UMKC Women Set to Face Huskers and No. 71 Wyoming This Weekend
2/4/2016 10:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
This Week and Up Next
Kansas City (2-1) women's tennis continues its road swing when it goes to Lincoln, Nebraska for matches against both the Huskers and Wyoming this Friday and Saturday. The Roos will conclude the road trip next Saturday the 13th against Iowa and Illinois State in Iowa City.
The Opponents
The Huskers are 3-0 entering the weekend, and they face Creighton earlier in the day on Friday before battling the Roos. They are led by Maggy Lehmicke, who is 3-0 at the No. 1 position in dual play. This will be the first ever meeting between UMKC and Nebraska in women's tennis.
Wyoming is 3-2 on the season and ranked No. 71 in the nation. They are also facing Nebraska during the weekend. They are led by No. 1 player Magdalena Stencel, who boasts a 3-1 dual record so far. UMKC is 0-1 all-time against the Cowgirls, falling back in 1996.
Moving On Up
The Roos have three current players ranked in the singles all-time top-10 charts. Senior Dimitra Stavrianakou is sixth all-time with 40 wins, while Mariam Kurasbediani has 30 wins to sit eighth, and Raquel Argenal is at 28 victories in ninth.
In doubles play, Stavrianakou is sixth with 35 career victories, while Linda Ammar Mouhoub is 10th with 21 career wins.
Player of the Week
Allie Schulte was named the WAC Player of the Week on Tuesday after her win at No. 6 against Missouri at No. 6 singles. She was also leading 5-3 at No. 3 doubles before it went unfinished due to a clinch.
Home Sweet Home
The UMKC women's tennis team posted an 8-2 record at home last season, the best home mark in school history. It started the season 6-0 at home as well, the best home start ever. This year the Roos are off to a 2-0 start at home.
The WAC
The WAC will have a regular season champion crowned again this year, as well as a conference tournament champion. The teams will be seeded in the league tournament based on the conference standings.
Media Guide Online
The 2015-16 UMKC women's tennis media guide is now online, and can be found on the women's tennis home page at UMKCKangaroos.com under the 'more' dropdown menu.
Head Coach Kendell Hale
Kendell Hale is in his ninth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. Overall, the 2015-16 season will be Hale's 22nd as a collegiate head coach, where he has compiled a 405-321 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 72-104 at UMKC, while boasting a 98-82 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 at the 2010 USTPA 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 eight seasons at the helm, Hale has coached 29 all-league honorees on the men's side and 16 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 nine 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
