Alcorn Women’s Tennis Looks to Break Drought Against Georgia Southern, Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Alcorn State Women’s Tennis aims to earn its first win over a Division I opponent this season during a doubleheader Friday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The Braves will face Georgia Southern at 10 a.m. and Mississippi State at 4 p.m.

Under interim head coach Kersten Vanem-Walker, Alcorn has won three straight matches against junior colleges, but has yet to defeat a Division I team. The team is led by freshmen Hana Bajramovic and Taylor Briffa, both with 3-3 singles records this spring. The Braves have lost their first three matches of the season, including two against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and one against McNeese State.

Georgia Southern, coached by Sean McCaffrey, enters the weekend with a 1-3 record. The Eagles earned their only win Jan. 23 against the College of Charleston. Angelina Mihajlovic leads the team with a 3-1 singles record, and Evelyn Warkentin is 3-0 on the season. This marks the first recorded meeting between Alcorn and Georgia Southern in women’s tennis.

Mississippi State, coached by Chris Hoosyar, has had recent matches canceled due to weather. The Bulldogs hold a 22-3 record under Hoosyar and opened their season with wins over UAB and Samford. Doubles duo Gianna Oboniye and Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz are ranked No. 9 nationally by the ITA. MSU maintains a perfect 10-0 series record against Alcorn.

Alcorn secured its third consecutive victory Monday with a 5-2 win over Mississippi Gulf Coast at Hall’s Ferry Road Tennis Courts. The Braves took the doubles point with wins from Zoe Crimmel and Oihane Villanueva Lopez, and Katherine Grados dominated her singles match with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. The team is scheduled to face Georgia Southern and Mississippi State in Starkville, seeking to improve its record against Division I opponents this season.

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