CLEVELAND, Miss. – With a winning streak on the line, the Delta State men's and women's tennis teams travel to Cleveland, Tenn., to face off against Gulf South Conference rival Lee University on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 9:00 a.m. CST.
 
"Our men and women put in another quality performance last weekend," said Jeffrey Farris, head coach for the Delta State men's and women's tennis teams. "With a winning streak on the line, we have to stay focused for this weekend, but I am confident our teams will perform well. We've had good success on the road so far this season, so I look forward to another positive outcome."
 
MATCH NOTES:
 

• The Statesmen will put their three-game winning streak to the test against the Lee University Flames. Since Lee joined the Gulf South Conference in 2014, the Statesmen and Flames are tied a two matches apiece for the series lead.
• Last season, the Flames defeated the Statesmen, 5-1. The Flames enter the match with a 3-0 record. However, they have yet to play a GSC match.
• The Lady Statesmen have the upper hand over the Lady Flames, having won three of the past four matches against the Lady Flames. However, Delta State's only loss against Lee since the two teams began rivalry was last season, when Lee defeated DSU, 5-2. 
• The Lady Flames enter the match with a 2-1 record, coming off a 5-4 loss to Carson-Newman.

 
ALLEZ LE TERRIER 

• Freshman Emile Le Terrier has dominated the competition at the No. 1 spot for the Statesmen. He is undefeated at the No. 1 singles position for Delta State. This past weekend, he defeated Ritwik Chatterjee of Rhodes, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 1 singles position. Paired with Hugo Stroppiana, he defeated PJ Shaw/Sairam Cudbeva, 8-4 at the No. 1 doubles position.
• 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.

 
ALL WE DO IS WIN

• The 3-0 start for the Statesmen is DSU's best start to the season since 2015.
• The Lady Statesmen and Statesmen won 9-0 against Rhodes, recording their first shutout victory of the season.
• The Statesmen are a perfect 2-0 against GSC competition this season and are sitting in second place in GSC standings.
• The Lady Statesmen are currently riding a two-match winning streak.
• With the win against Rhodes, the Lady Statesmen improve to 2-1, the best start to the season since 2016 when the Lady Statesmen won four straight after dropping the 2016 season opener.  

 
EXPERIENCE MATTERS:

• Senior Charlotte Le Flohic and junior Ione' Deroode remain undefeated in singles action.
• Saturday's game will be Le Flohic's 52^nd career match.  A native of Senlis, France, the senior has been the pillar for Lady Statesmen tennis this season.
• After sitting out last season, Deroode has risen to the top, tying Le Flohic for the team lead in singles wins.

 
UP NEXT:
The Statesmen and Lady Statesmen will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a non-conference match against William Carey University scheduled on March 3, at 2:30 p.m. The Statesmen and Lady Statesmen will also play Jones Junior College in an exhibition match on March 3, in Hattiesburg, Miss., at a time to be determined.