CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State men's and women's tennis teams will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on NAIA opponent William Carey University on Saturday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m.
 
"I'm really proud of the effort both teams gave at Lee," said Jeffrey Farris, head coach for the Delta State men's and women's tennis teams. "Our conference is one of the toughest in the league. Obviously, not the result we wanted for the women, but they continued to persevere until the end. Hopefully, the guys will make it five in a row this weekend, but we have to continue to stay focused."
 
MATCH NOTES:

• The Statesmen enter the match riding a four-match winning streak after defeating Gulf South Conference rival Lee University on Saturday, Feb. 24.
• Last Saturday's match at Lee snapped a two-match winning streak for the Lady Statesmen, and handed Delta State its second loss of the season.
• After dropping their season opener, the Crusaders have won the past four matches. All of William Carey's wins have been shutout wins, whereas the Statesmen have only recorded one shutout victory this season.
• William Carey's women's tennis team is currently a perfect 4-0 this season.

 
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 Rhys Milne of Lee 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
• 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 4-0 start for the Statesmen is DSU's best start to the season since 2015.
• The four-match winning streak is the longest winning streak for the Statesmen since 2014, when the Statesmen won five consecutive matches to make it to the semifinal round of the 2014 GSC Tennis Championship.
• The Statesmen are a perfect 3-0 against GSC competition this season and are sitting in second place in GSC standings.
• With last Saturday's win at Lee, the Statesman have tied the amount of conference wins from last season.
• Delta State is one of only two teams undefeated in the GSC men's league overall standings. Valdosta State is the only other unbeaten team in men's league standings. While West Florida is on top of the GSC with four conference wins, the Argonauts recorded their first loss of the season against Embry-Riddle on Saturday, Feb. 24.

 
STRICKLAND NAMED GSC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:

• Stedman Strickland was named Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
• Strickland clinched the match win for the Statesman at Lee on Feb. 24 when he defeated Bruno Medeiros 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 at No. 4 singles.
• He is currently riding a four-match winning streak in singles play and is tied for second among all singles leaders in the GSC for winning percentage.

 
NOTABLES:

• Junior Ione' Deroode remains the only Lady Statesman that is undefeated in singles action.
• Doubles team, Charlotte Le Flohic and Nathalia Sato, remains undefeated in doubles action with a 3-0 record. 

 
UP NEXT:
The Statesmen and Lady Statesmen will travel to instate rival Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., for a GSC match on Wednesday, March 7, at 2 p.m.