CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State men's and women's tennis teams will travel to Memphis, Tenn., to face off against Rhodes College on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.
"I'm pleased with how our teams performed last weekend" said
Jeffrey Farris, head coach for the Delta State men's and women's tennis teams. "Our men turned in a solid performance. Our women struggled against UAH, but I'm pleased they were able to recover to win the next conference match. We have a lot of positives to take away, and we look forward to a great match this weekend."
MATCH NOTES:
- The last time the two teams met was in 2016. The Statesmen defeated the Lynx, 6-1, while the Lady Statesmen defeated the Lynx, 5-3
- The Statesmen enter the match on a two-match winning streak. The 2-0 start for the men is their best start to the season since 2015.
- The Statesmen are currently on top of the Gulf South Conference standings, having defeated UAH (6-3) and CBU (8-1) the past weekend.
- Rhodes College's men's tennis team is currently 1-1, and enters the match on a high note, coming off an 8-1 win against Blue Mountain College on Feb. 10.
- After dropping their season opener to UAH, the Lady Statesmen bounced back to earn their first win of the season and first conference win of the season in an 8-1 dominating performance against CBU on Feb. 10.
- Rhodes' women's tennis team enters the match with the same overall record as the Lady Statesmen, 1-1. The Lynx enter the match coming off a 6-3 win against Hendrix College.
ALLEZ LE TERRIER:
- Freshman Emile Le Terrier has dominated the competition at the No. 1 spot for the Statesmen. He helped guide Delta State to a 2-0 record, earning match wins against Dylan Hall of UAH 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and CBU's Atilio Flores, 6-1, 6-2. Paired with fellow teammate, Hugo Stroppiana, he also helped lead the Statesmen to two doubles wins. The duo defeated Elliot Hopson/Dylan Hall (UAH) 9-7 and Atilio Flores/Andres Calzacorta (CBU) 8-3.
- A native of Paris, France, Le Terrier enters the season ranked No. 47 nationally in the Oracle/ITA Division II National Singles Rankings. He is the first Statesman since 2008 to earn a national ranking. Pascal LaPlace was the last Statesman to earn an ITA national ranking, finishing the 2008-09 season ranked No. 46 in DII.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
- Senior Charlotte Le Flohic and junior Ione' Deroode remain undefeated in singles action.
- Le Flohic competed in her 50th career singles match at Delta State on Friday, Feb. 9. She defeated UAH's Sarah Stearman for one of the Lady Statesmen's only two match poitns. She finished the 2017 season tied for the second most singles wins and tied for first in most team doubles wins.
- Jemina Linn Sorman, Nathalia Stelzer, and Kyra Holway each earned their first match victories as Lady Statesmen in Saturday's win against CBU.
- Former Mississippi high school standouts, freshmen Stedman Strickland, Tyler Santucci and Tres Santucci, highlight the Statesmen newcomers Strickland, Tres Santucci, and Hugo Stropppiana earned their first match victories as Statesmen this past weekend.
- Strickland, who attended St. Joseph Catholic School, won five consecutive Mississippi High School Activities Association 1A/2AA singles state tennis championships, while only losing one match in his entire four-year high school career. He was also a member of the 2012 and 2013 state championship teams.
- The Santucci brothers were MSHSAA 1A Team State Champions in 2014 and 2015, 2014 MSHSAA Boys Doubles State Champions, and MAIS Boys Team Overall State Champions in 2016. In 2017, Tres Santucci finished his senior season 14-1 in singles, while Tyler went undefeated (15-0).
UP NEXT:
The Statesmen and Lady Statesmen will travel to Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., for a Gulf South Conference match scheduled on Feb. 24, at 9:00 a.m. CST.
