UMKC Heads to Colorado for Duals with Rams, Falcons on Saturday and Sunday
1/30/2015 9:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
THIS WEEK
Kansas City (2-0) women's tennis heads to Colorado this weekend for a pair of matches against Colorado State and Air Force on Saturday and Sunday.
THE OPPONENTS
Colorado State is opening its spring schedule this weekend with UMKC at home in Fort Collins. The 'Roos are 0-3 against the Rams, falling three times from 1994-96.
The Air Force Falcons will host UMKC on Sunday after playing Colorado and Kansas State as well. They come into the weekend with a 3-1 record. UMKC has faced the Falcons only once, dropping a 4-0 decision in 2010.
Who is Competing
All eight eligible players are available for the weekend: Dimitra Stavrianakou, Maddie Schulte, Mariam Kurasbediani, Raquel Argenal, Amelie Amsallem, Marina Albert, Allie Schulte, and Linda Ammar Mouhoub.
Last Time Out
The 'Roos opened their home schedule with a pair of indoor wins against Baker and William Jewell on Friday and Saturday in convincing fashion. They won both matches by a 7-0 score, dropping only one doubles match.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Dimitra Stavrianakou went 2-0 in both singles and doubles to start the spring last week against Baker and WJC, and was rewarded for her efforts out of the No. 1 position, earning WAC Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
THE WAC
The WAC will have a regular season champion crowned this year, as well as a conference tournament champion. The teams will be seeded in the league tournament based on the conference standings. The WAC Tournament will be played April 24-26 in Kansas City, hosted by the 'Roos.
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Kendell Hale is in his eighth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. Overall, the 2014-15 season is Hale's 21st as a collegiate head coach, where he has compiled a 383-296 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 62-92 at UMKC, while boasting an 86-70 mark with the men.
Hale has orchestrated an amazing turnaround with the men's and women's tennis programs since joining the department in 2008. He has guided both the men's and women's squads to numerous school-record win totals and has produced four conference regular season titles, four conference tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also selected as the 2010 USPTA National Coach of the Year for his turnaround effort, as well as 2009 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year, the 2011 Summit League Men's Coach of the Year, and 2013 Summit League Women's Coach of the Year.
In seven seasons at the helm, Hale has coached 25 all-league honorees on the men's side and 14 all-league selections on the women's side. He's also coached three Conference Players of the Year and three League Newcomers of the Year.
He has also coached the five winningest players in school history on the women's side, and four of the five top career win leaders on the men's side.
Players Mentioned
