LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama women's tennis team is set to open the NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 9:00 a.m. CST matchup against No. 4 Mississippi College on the campus of Barry University in Miami, Florida.
West Alabama (19-5) enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed after a 19-win season. Mississippi College (23-1) comes in as the No. 4 seed after a flawless regular season before suffering its first loss of the year to West Florida in the GSC Championship match.
The Tigers and Choctaws met earlier this season on April 8, when Mississippi College earned a narrow 4-3 victory in a highly competitive contest. In that matchup, UWA claimed the doubles point before MC won four of the six singles matches.
Shaira Rivera and Jenaila Prulla both earned singles victories against Mississippi College in the first meeting and continue to be key contributors for the Tigers. Rivera, the reigning GSC Player of the Year, enters the tournament with a 13-6 singles record and a 19-2 doubles record. The graduate student is ranked within the top-10 in both singles and doubles as she leads UWA into the South Regional.
Prulla has been dominant on Line Five this season, posting a 17-2 singles record. She earned a straight-set victory over Mississippi College's Rune Van Wyk in April, and the two are expected to meet again on Friday.
West Alabama's lineup also features Alexa Milliam, Nanoka Kazama, Valentina Mutilba, and Jian Ibrahim. Milliam, a First Team All-GSC selection, will play Line Two singles and partner with Rivera on Line One doubles on Friday. Kazama has excelled on Line Six singles, compiling a 17-4 overall record. Mutilba has shown major improvement in singles play this season and brings a 13-5 record into Friday's matchup. Ibrahim has emerged as one of the conference's top freshmen after recording a 12-9 record during the regular season and GSC Tournament.
Mississippi College fields one of the top rosters in the country. The Choctaws opened the season with 23 consecutive victories before falling to West Florida in the GSC Championship match.
As a team, MC is 110-18 in singles play and 54-11 in doubles competition. The Choctaws placed five players on the All-GSC team, led by Emily Buchanan, who finished as the conference Player of the Year runner-up. Buchanan is 19-3 in both singles and doubles while competing exclusively on Line One. Rivera handed Buchanan one of those losses earlier this season, earning a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory in April.
Mississippi College also features standout players Anna Hudson, Rocio Martinez Azcarraga, Ann Cabot Stockett, and Kathrina Weber, all of whom earned Second Team All-GSC honors. Hudson owns a 20-2 singles record and a 17-1 doubles mark. Azcarraga partners with Hudson in doubles and plays Line Two singles, where she has posted a 16-4 record. Stockett carries the team's best singles winning percentage at 21-1 and teams with Buchanan to form one of the nation's top doubles tandems. Weber is 17-3 in singles play, with most of her matches coming on Line Three.
Friday's matchup between the Tigers and Choctaws will determine who advances to face host Barry on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. EST / 9:00 a.m. CST.
