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Kangaroos Head to Iowa, Face Drake and Iowa State This Weekend
3/5/2015 5:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
THIS WEEK
Kansas City (4-5) women's tennis gets back in action for a Des Moines, Iowa road swing this weekend, facing Drake on Friday, and Iowa State on Saturday.
THE OPPONENT
Drake is 9-3 entering the weekend, and have won their last two matches. The Bulldogs are led by Mariel Ante at the No. 1 spot with seven dual wins, while Nell Boyd leads the team with eight dual wins, playing Nos. 4 and 5. UMKC has a 1-7 mark against them, winning only in 2013.
Iowa State is 3-5 on the season after starting the year with a tough schedule. The Cyclones are led by Meghan Cassens, who brings a 5-2 dual record into the weekend. They face Drake and Wyoming as well as the 'Roos this weekend. UMKC is 0-3 against ISU all-time.
Who is Competing
All eight eligible players are available for the dual: Dimitra Stavrianakou, Maddie Schulte, Mariam Kurasbediani, Raquel Argenal, Amelie Amsallem, Marina Albert, Allie Schulte, and Linda Ammar Mouhoub.
HOME SWEET HOME
The UMKC women's tennis team moved to 4-0 at home on Saturday in a match against Bradley, making it the best home start in school history.
Last Time Out
UMKC women's tennis chalked up its most impressive victory of the year last Saturday afternoon, knocking off Bradley in a tight 4-3 match. The 'Roos seized the momentum from the start, taking the doubles point with 6-2 and 6-1 victories at the No. 1 and 3 positions, respectively. The clinching match was at the No. 5 position, as Raquel Argenal won a first set tiebreak and closed it out in two sets by taking the second set by a 6-4 score.
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 387-306 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 64-97 at UMKC, while boasting an 88-75 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
