NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State women's tennis opened its season on the road this past weekend with matches at Arkansas State on Friday night and Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon.
 
ARK ST 7, TSU 0
 
The Tigers battled for 6.5 hours against the Redwolves but ultimately lost 7-0. The Lady Tigers showed fight and determination in the doubles portion of the match with each match being competitive. Perri Howard / Warona Mdlulwa picked up a 7-6 win in the No. 1 spot. Jovana Nikolic / Natalie Walsh were edged 6-7 in the No. 2 position, while Francisca Gomez-Weiss / Louise Ratiu were downed 4-6.
 
The singles portion of play saw three Lady Tigers split sets. Mdlulwa fell 6-4, 2-6, 5-7 in the No. 3 position, while Ratiu also went three sets, falling 6-4, 1-6, 8-10 at No. 4. Aroa Arrieta Castillo battled in the six slot as she was downed 4-6, 7-6, 5-10.   
 
"AR State is a much-improved team from last year. They hired a very successful coach and will improve tremendously," stated coach Steve Brooks. "Their girls fought hard and adjusted to everything we threw at them. I am very proud of my team. Due to the snow, they barely got to practice since arriving on campus, but that didn't stop them from fighting! They want to learn from their mistakes and improve day by day."
 
CHATT 6, TSU 1
 
TSU dropped the doubles point to the Mocs despite picking up a win by default at No. 3 doubles. Gomez-Weiss / Ratiu fell 3-6 in the No. 2 card.
 
The Lady Tigers picked up their lone win of the opening weekend as Daniela Koleva won by default in the No. 6 singles. Ratiu and Nikolic both dropped their singles matches 6-7, 1-6.
 
"We competed well in all matches. It came down to Chattanooga taking advantage of us not hitting one ball well in a point," relayed coach Steve Brooks. "The snow has greatly hampered our practice times. I think we have only been able to practice 5 hours since returning. Next weekend is another difficult match. We need more hours in practice."
 
TSU will head to Eastern Kentucky on Friday afternoon for a 1:00 p.m. match followed by a home match against Lipscomb on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Hadley Park