EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE tennis will look to equal their best spring start since the 2016-17 season on Friday afternoon, as the Cougars head to the Hoosier State for a fixture at IUPUI.
No live stats or live video will be available for the match.
Last Time Out
SIUE opened up the spring season with a pair of convincing road wins. First, the Cougars took down Valparaiso in a 5-2 affair on January 21 before a quick turnaround saw the Red & White go 2-0 on the road trip with a 5-2 win over Chicago State.
Fabiola Perez and
Vanessa Reinicke earned singles wins in both matches, and both sit at 6-1 in singles play this year.
So About Last Season
The Cougars put together the first 10-win season of Head Coach
Adam Albertsen's tenure at the helm in 2021, putting together a 10-7 overall record and a 3-4 mark in OVC play.
The Cougars were led in 2021 by then-true freshman
Jordan Schifano, who earned Second Team All-OVC honors with an impressive 13-3 record in singles play. SIUE also saw contributions from
Nicole Gomez, who put together a 10-2 record in singles play. The doubles squad of
Jill Lambrechts and
Maria Thibault proved to be the Red & White's most potent pair, going 7-3 overall.
The Cougars graduated just one player from last season in Edwardsville native
Callaghan Adams. Adams finished her career with 50 singles wins over her five seasons at SIUE.
Here Come the Cougars
Head Coach
Adam Albertsen enters his fourth season at the helm in 2022 looking to continue the trend of consistent improvement. The Cougars have improved in non-conference and OVC play in each of his first three seasons as Head Coach.
SIUE will be tested early and often this spring, as Albertsen has put together one of the most competitive schedules in the program's Division I era. The Red & White will face off against a trio of Missouri Valley Conference foes and four in-state rivals, as well as the program's first matchup against a FBS opponent since February 2, 2020 when the Cougars head to the Bluegrass State for a fixture at Western Kentucky.
The highlight of the Cougars' non-conference slate will come over Spring Break, when SIUE will head to Orlando for a pair of neutral-site matches against Radford and Sacred Heart. The Cougars' match against Sacred Heart will see the two programs face off for the very first time. SIUE last met Radford in 2008, also as part of a neutral-site trip in Florida. This will be just the second-ever meeting between the Cougars and Highlanders.
Welcome to Edwardsville
The Cougars welcome one new student-athlete into the program this spring, as true freshman
Amber Hochstatter is set to make her spring debut in the Red & White this weekend. Hochstatter, who hails from Wyanet, Illinois, has already seen competitive action at the collegiate level.
Scouting the Jaguars
The IUPUI Jaguars come into Friday's match at 1-2 in match play. The Jaguars opened the 2022 season with losses at Valparaiso (2-5) and Purdue (0-7) before claiming their first win of the spring with a 5-2 triumph over Bellarmine. IUPUI put together a 2-12 record last spring, with their lone victories coming against DePauw (Ind.) of NCAA Division III.
The Jaguars are expected to lead off singles play with senior Gabrielle Ochalik, who has played in the No. 1 position for IUPUI in all three dual matches this spring. Ochalik is 0-3 in singles play this spring and 1-9 in singles play including the fall season.
