'Roos Finish Regular Season with Pair of Matches
4/9/2015 11:03:00 AM | Women's Tennis
THIS WEEK
Kansas City (9-11, 2-3 WAC) women's tennis looks to round out the regular season with a pair of non-conference games on Friday and Wednesday, facing Cowley College at home and Northwest Missouri State on the road.
THE OPPONENTS
Cowley College enters the week with a 10-11 overall record, competing at the junior college level. They are led by No. 1 player Anna Buiukien, while the doubles pairing of Shali Schoepflin and Stormi Tipton have won their last three matches. UMKC is 2-0 all-time against the Tigers, winning 6-1 last year.
Northwest Missouri State is 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA entering the weekend. They are paced by one of the top players in Division II with Camila Quesada at the No. 1 position, boasting a 19-4 record. UMKC is 3-3 all-time against the Bearcats, winning the last three meetings.
Who is Competing
All eight eligible players are available for the duals: 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 saw its home win streak end last week, extending its best home start in school history at 6-0. They are currently 7-1, which is still the best home record ever at UMKC.
Last Time Out
UMKC women's tennis comes in after closing our WAC play over the weekend, taking a win over Seattle and a loss to UTPA.
WAC SEEDING
The 'Roos will be the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament on April 24-26 in Kansas City. They will face No. 2 UTPA in the semifinals.
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 396-317 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 69-103 at UMKC, while boasting a 92-80 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.
