ABILENE – Abilene Christian opens the spring tennis season with a 1 p.m. match at UTSA on Friday and then travels to No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. contest.
ACU returns all six members of its regular lineup from last season's 11-13 squad.
Returning this year are graduate student
Andrea Guerrero, senior
Maryjoe Crisologo, junior
Eva Arranz, and sophomores
Maria Cascos,
Olivia Sears and
Masha Vrsalovic.
Libby Blair, a freshman from Salem, Oregon, and
Hebe Toyos, a transfer from Grand Canyon, join the squad this season.
Cascos, a second-team All-Conference selection as a freshman last season, brings back the best singles record at 13-6. She did most of her damage at the fourth slot last season, getting nine wins. Arranz (11-3 at No. 6) and Sears (12-7 at No. 3) also finished with 13 singles wins while Guerrero (8-6 at No. 5) ended with 11. Crisologo and Vrsalovic split time at the top of the lineup last season.
ACU defeated UTSA last season, 4-3, with Sears getting the decisive win at third singles.
UTSA opens its season on Thursday at home against St. Mary's.
Texas A&M was ranked second in the preseason poll but dropped to 10 after starting the season with losses to San Diego and fourth-ranked Stanford. The Aggies went 30-3 last year, falling in the NCAA quarterfinals.
A&M's lineup includes top-ranked Mary Stoiana, No. 26 Mia Kupres and No. 31 Nicole Khirin. Stoiana and Kupres also form the No. 3 doubles team in the NCAA.
