Women's Tennis Set for SBC Tournament Matchup Against Arkansas State

TROY, Ala. - After claiming its most wins since the 2018-19 season, Troy women's tennis prepares for battle against Arkansas State in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in Peachtree City, Ga., on Thursday at 1 p.m.

The Trojans (9-12, 4-6 SBC) are ready for their ESPN+ televised rematch against the Red Wolves (6-14, 2-8 SBC) at the Peachtree City Tennis Center after defeating them 4-0 in the first round of last year's tournament.

Troy enters the postseason, claiming its most wins in a season (9) and conference play (4) since the 2018-19 season with a chance for its sixth double-digit win season in the last 10 years.

Weekend in Peachtree
Location: Peachtree City, Ga. - Peachtree City Tennis Center
The Matchup: #6 Troy (9-12, 4-6 SBC) vs. # 11 Arkansas State (6-14, 2-8 SBC)
When: Thursday, April 20 – 1 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+

Instant Classic
On April 2, Troy opened the match down 1-0 after losing the doubles point. However, Anastasiia Khokhlova tied the match 1-1 after dominating Thea Rice 6-1, 6-1.

Down 2-1, Troy claimed all the momentum as Franziska Ahrend (6-1, 6-4) and Michelle Ncube (6-4, 6-3) took two straight points for Troy to put it to match point, 3-2.

Andrea Widing had a chance to seal the victory but fell to the hands of Yasmine Humbert in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to tie the match 3-3.

Hagar Amin was the final Trojan in play, taking her first set convincingly with the 6-1 win. However, in the second set, the freshman faltered, getting blanked 6-0. Finally, Amin took the early lead in the extra set before clinching the win for Troy, 4-3, on a massive 6-1 set.

What's Up with the Wolves
Since its last meeting with Troy, A-State has declined, winning just one of its previous five matches - Georgia Southern, 4-3.

The Red Wolves look to end a 10-match losing streak to the Trojans, being outscored 42-16. This includes a 4-0 sweep in last year's SBC tournament that saw Kristina Kukaras, Ncube and Widing pull off victories.

Arkansas State shines in doubles competition with Thea Rice/Nejla Zukic sitting atop the team standings at 13-6 - second best is Humbert/Sofia Vdovychenko at 8-10. Overall, the team is 31-26 on the season.

ASU struggles at 33-70 overall for singles and a mere 10-30 in conference play. Rice and Emily Surcey account for 45.5 percent of the wins at 15 combined.

Women's Tennis Set for SBC Tournament Matchup Against Arkansas State

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Players Mentioned

Franziska Ahrend

Anastasiia Khokhlova

Kristina Kukaras

Michelle Ncube

Hagar Ramadan-Amin

Andrea Widing

Troy University Athletics