SIUE (4-0, 0-0 OVC) vs. William Woods [Mo.] (1-3)         Friday, Feb. 11  |  2:00 p.m. CT  |  Edwardsville, Ill.
Live Stats	iOnCourt
Team Info	SIUE | William Woods [Mo.]
Admission	Free

SIUE (4-0, 0-0 OVC) vs. McKendree [Ill.] (2-1)             Saturday, Feb. 12  |  2:30 p.m. CT  |  Edwardsville, Ill.
Live Stats	None
Team Info	SIUE | McKendree [Ill.]
Admission	Free

LAST TIME OUT
One of the program's best-ever starts to a spring season continued last Sunday, as the Cougars handled the Western Illinois Leathernecks in a convincing 7-0 win to improve to 4-0 on the season. The match was highlighted by the return of Nicole Gomez, who earned a straight-set win in her first match back from injury. 
 
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.
 
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. 

MAKING HISTORY
The Cougars are in the midst of their best start in six seasons and their second-best start in the program's Division I era. 

1. 2016-17 (21-0)
2. 2021-22 (4-0)
3. 2020-21 (3-0)
   2011-12 (3-0)

SCOUTING THE OWLS
The William Woods Owls have established themselves as one of the premier programs in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and entered the 2022 spring season ranked No. 12 in the NAIA. The Owls' 1-3 record is quite deceiving, as two of WWU's three losses came at the NAIA Indoor National Invitational against a pair of top 20 opponents. The Owls most recently fell in a road fixture at Washburn University - the No. 17 team in NCAA Division II. 

Friday's match marks the Owls' first of the season against a D-I opponent, as WWU will also travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for a pair of matches at Southeast Missouri. This will be the first-ever meeting between SIUE and William Woods University.

The Owls went 15-6 last season, winning the Heart of America Athletic Conference/American Midwest Conference/Sooner Athletic Conference Championship for the fifth consecutive season and advancing to the Second Round of the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championships before losing to eventual NAIA National Quarterfinalist Louisiana State-Alexandria.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
The McKendree University Bearcats are a much more familiar opponent for the Cougars, as the two Metro East squads have met seven times previously. The Bearcats and Cougars most recently faced off last season, when SIUE took down McKendree in a 7-0 sweep. 

McKendree will be playing its first match of the spring when they take the court on Saturday, as their scheduled season opening match against Missouri Baptist University was postponed; however, the Bearcats have amassed a 2-1 record in fall match play, earning a pair of 6-1 wins against Lewis & Clark Community College [Ill.] and NAIA Missouri Valley College [Mo.]. 

The Bearcats went 8-5 last season and 5-5 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.