LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's and Women's Tennis team are set to officially open up their 2025 season on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., traveling to Montgomery, Alabama for a matchup against Division I, Alabama State.
West Alabama's Women's team comes into the new year after winning the GSC last season while both of Alabama State's Men's and Women's team captured the SWAC championship in 2024.
"We are excited to kick off our season especially against a Division I opponent in Alabama State who won the SWAC last year," said head coach Jeff Beaman. "We have a ton of talent on both the Men's and Women's team this season, so I'm excited to get 2025 kicked off on Saturday.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
The Tigers enter the 2025 campaign with two of the best players in the league on their roster in Shaira Rivera and Valentina Mutilba. Rivera and Mulitba dazzled as Doubles partners this past fall, capturing the ITA South Region Championship and the National Championship in Doubles. Rivera and Mutilba are at the top of their games, entering Saturday's Season Opener and will look to make headlines in their Individual Singles matches as they are slated to be on the number one and two lines for UWA on Saturday.
Alongside West Alabama's star duo, the Tigers returned Greta Zawels, Emiri Takanishi, Ximena Ku, and Lolita Hukasian. The UWA quartet will provide depth and experience across multiple courts while newcomers Abrianna Irvin, Alexa Milliam, Shreya Naik look to make their mark.
For the Hornets, Ena Arnautovic has been the leader in Singles thus far this season. Arnautovic currently holds a 2-0 record in Singles, while Kesmat El Tawil, Clèanne Pickel, and Carmella Vial have all picked up one win each.
MEN'S TENNIS
The West Alabama Men finished the 2024 season with a 8-13 record, but in 2025, bring in a wealth of talent. Francisco Oliveira, Tomas Almeida, Afonso Portugal, and Sebastiao Vilas are all newcomers who are primed to make an immediate impact in their first season with the Tigers. Returner Jacob Tapia is back for his Sophomore campaign after leading West Alabama in Singles wins last year with nine. Eita Ishikawa, Federico Iturbe, Vilislav Bonev, and Caden Goldammer combined for 19 singles in 2024 and will look to jumpstart their campaigns on Saturday.
The Hornets' David Jeanne Grandinot, Lun Obrul, and Alexandre Verlaguet all have three wins this season and will present a nice season opening test for the Tigers.
First serve in Montgomery is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
