MIAMI, Fla. – The FIU women's tennis team returns to action on its home court for the first time this spring, hosting North Florida at the FIU Tennis Courts for its home opener on Saturday, Feb. 11.
 
Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. North Florida (5-2, 0-0 ASUN)

• Time / Site:  12 p.m. at FIU Tennis Courts
• Series History: FIU leads 6-5

 
The Panthers welcome the Ospreys to Miami this Saturday having won the past five straight matchups between the two squads, as FIU edged UNF in its last meeting, 4-3, last season in Jacksonville on Feb. 18, 2022.
 
FIU enters Saturday's home opener 2-1 on the season after dropping then-No. 18 UCLA in the ITA Kickoff Consolation, 4-1, to bounce back into the win column. First-year Ekaterina Khairutdinova was tabbed the Conference USA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week for her performance in FIU's upset over the Bruins, seeing the freshman collect a top-15 doubles win at the top spot alongside Kamila Umarova, while also adding a top-50 win at No. 2 singles en route to the victory.
 
Additionally, Khairutdinova and Umarova notched a spot within the ITA's Top 60 Doubles rankings this week, slotted at No. 44 in the nation after corralling a top-15 victory over UCLA's then-No. 11 Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle. The duo lead the Panthers in doubles at 2-0 in the No. 1 position.
 
Khairutdinova and junior Salma Loudili lead the Panthers in singles action, both holding a pair of wins at the No. 2 and No. 6 position, respectively. Umarova and Katerina Mandelikova also holds wins, as Mandelikova recorded the clincher over the then-18^th-ranked Bruins in No. 5 singles for her first career dual singles win.
 
Sophomore Yasmine Kabbaj (0-2) and freshman Oyinlomo Quadre (0-1) look to collect their first dual singles wins of the season entering Saturday's matchup.
 
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for its next Top 25 matchup, traveling to face No. 21 UCF next Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. First serve is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUWTENNIS), Twitter (@FIUWTENNIS), and Facebook (Facebook.com\FIUWTN) for all the latest Women's Tennis news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.