Harding Women's Tennis
Harding (8-5) vs. Northwest Mo. St. (8-8)
Location: Bolivar, Mo.
Time: Friday, Mar. 28, 1 p.m.
Series: NWMSU leads 2-0
Coaches: Harding – Marco Ruiz (8-5, 1st season at Harding); Northwest Mo. St. – Mark Rosewell (32nd season at Northwest Mo. St.)
Two of the top-ranked teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region will meet Friday at 10 a.m. at the Southwest Baptist tennis courts in Bolivar, Mo. Harding is ranked No. 10 in the Central Region and Northwest Missouri is ranked No. 7.
Harding and Northwest Missouri will be meeting for only the third time. Ranked No. 30 at the time, Northwest Missouri defeated Harding 5-2 on Apr. 1, 2005, and won 6-3 on Apr. 6, 2007.
Both teams have players ranked in the top 20 in singles in the region. Harding's Benyapa Phumtip is ranked No. 9, and Northwest Missouri has No. 11 Lorena Jarolim and No. 17 Alexis Bartek. Jarlim and Bartek comprise the Central Region's No. 5 doubles team.
Harding and Northwest Missouri have played three common opponents—Nebraska-Kearney, Drury, and Missouri-St. Louis. Harding defeated Nebraska-Kearney 6-3, lost 8-1 to Drury and lost 5-4 to Missouri-St. Louis. Northwest Missouri defeated Nebraska-Kearney 5-4, lost 5-1 to Drury, and defeated Missouri-St. Louis 5-2.
Missouri-St. Louis is a member of the MIAA and has a 4-2 conference record. Harding is a member of the Great American Conference and is 1-0 in conference play.
UNIVERSAL TENNIS RANKINGS POTENTIAL MATCHUPS (based on most-used singles lineups this season)
Harding (8-5, 1-0) vs. Southern Nazarene (4-2, 2-1)
Location: Searcy, Ark.
Time: Sat., Mar. 29, 10 a.m.
Series: Tied 1-1
Coaches: Harding – Marco Ruiz (8-5, 1st season at Harding); Southern Nazarene – Charlie Hibbard (4-2, 1st season at Southern Nazarene)
Two of the three regionally-ranked teams in the Great American Conference square off Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Harding Tennis Complex. Harding, No. 8 in the Central Region, will host No. 5 Southern Nazarene.
Harding and Southern Nazarene will be meeting for only the third time. Harding won the first meeting 6-0 on Apr. 18, 1996, and Southern Nazarene won 8-1 in Bethany, Okla., last season.
Southern Nazarene's Masha Andrianova is ranked No. 5 in singles in the Central Region, and Andrianova and Natalia Moreno make up the region's No. 7 doubles team.
Harding and Southern Nazarene have only one common opponent this season. Harding defeated Henderson State 9-0, and Southern Nazarene won 5-4.
Southern Nazarene is 2-1 in the GAC with wins over Henderson State (5-4) and Ouachita Baptist (7-2) and a loss to Arkansas Tech (6-3). Harding has a 9-0 conference victory over Henderson State.
UNIVERSAL TENNIS RANKINGS POTENTIAL MATCHUPS (based on most-used singles lineups this season)
