Women's Tennis 3/22/2018 4:42:00 PM Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Cougars Open WAC Play This Weekend with First Cluster at UTRGV

CHICAGO – Chicago State women's tennis opens Western Athletic Conference play this weekend in Edinburg, Texas with the conference's first cluster of the season at the Orville Cox Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The Cougars open the cluster tomorrow morning against Grand Canyon at 9 a.m. then take on New Mexico State Saturday at 9 a.m. before closing the weekend on Sunday afternoon against defending WAC Tournament champion UMKC at 4 p.m.

CSU comes into the cluster with a 4-13 record on the season after finishing with a 1-1 record in Orlando last weekend after falling to Georgia Southern, 7-0, and earning a close 4-3 victory over Howard in neutral site matches on the USTA National Campus.

In singles play, senior Mariya Kostyuk (Kyiv, Ukraine/International School) and freshman Iesha Shepherd (Nassau, Bahamas/Laurel Springs School) are tied for the most wins with nine, while freshman Katarina Drazic (Sarasota, Fla./Elevation Preparatory Academy) has produced an 8-5 record. Seniors Leshia Gadacz (Toronto, Ontario/Loretto Abbey) and Lorea Gamboa (Gamiz-Fika, Spain/Larramendi Ikastola) have tallied an 11-5 doubles record that includes a 10-3 dual match ledger.

Grand Canyon, heading into the weekend with a 5-10 season record, is back in action after taking a week off to prepare for conference play. The Antelopes were last in action on March 11 when they dropped a 5-2 decision at Drake on March 11. Senior Kylie Waschuk leads GCU with a 15-10 singles record followed by the doubles team of sophomore Emilia Occhipinti and senior Lana Rinaldi posting a 10-7 record on the season.

Sporting a 4-10 record, New Mexico State looks to open conference play on a positive note after snapping a five-match losing streak yesterday with a close 5-4 victory at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The top singles player for the Aggies is junior Yadira Rubio as she has produced a record of 11-8 with a 7-4 mark in dual matches. The duo of freshman Quinty Janssen and sophomore Rebecca Keijzerwaard are 5-6 in doubles play and hold a 3-3 dual-match record.

UMKC has produced an 8-8 record this season and extended its winning streak to three in a row after defeating Iowa State at home by a 5-2 margin on March 15. Senior Aliona Ladutska leads the 'Roos with a 12-5 (9-4 dual matches) singles record. Two doubles teams are tied for the team lead with eight wins in Ladutska and freshman Grace Ball, and sophomore Yana Grechinka and senior Melinda Johnson.

The Cougars return to action on April 6-7 in Seattle for the final WAC cluster of the season against UTRGV and the host Redhawks.

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Players Mentioned

Leshia Gadacz: Senior

Lorea Gamboa: Senior

Mariya Kostyuk: Senior

Iesha Shepherd: Freshman

Katarina Drazic: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Leshia Gadacz
: Senior

Lorea Gamboa
: Senior

Mariya Kostyuk
: Senior

Iesha Shepherd
: Freshman

Katarina Drazic
: Freshman

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned