DENTON, Texas – The 38
th-ranked and top-seeded FIU women's tennis team gears up for its opening match of the 2023 Conference USA Championship on Friday, April 21, as the Panthers will face No. 8 seed UTSA in Friday's quarterfinals at Waranch Tennis Complex in Denton, Texas.
Friday, April 21 vs. No. 8 UTSA (14-9, 3-1 C-USA)
The 38
th-ranked Panthers await one more sleep until it kicks off action in Denton, as the Roadrunners advance into Friday's quarterfinals after dropping No. 9 seed UAB, 4-1,in Thursday's opening match.
Tomorrow's matchup marks the second all-time between the Panthers and Roadrunners, seeing FIU prevail in a 4-3 clash on Mar. 27, 2015, in Miami.
FIU earned the top seed for the third time under head coach Katerina Petrovic as the highest ranked team in the C-USA (No. 41 Charlotte, No. 58 Rice, No. 65 LA Tech) to receive a bye into Friday's quarterfinals.
The No. 38 Panthers finished the regular season 15-4 overall and 3-1 in the C-USA, as FIU has reached the C-USA title match in four of the last seven years (2021, 2018*, 2017, 2016).
FIU has been exceptional this season in utilizing the doubles point to earn an early advantage, having won 15 doubles points through 19 matches this season with a 36-12 dual doubles mark this year (.750). Two Panther duos sit ranked in the ITA National Doubles Rankings – No. 75
Yasmine Kabbaj /
Oyinlomo Quadre and No. 79
Ekaterina Khairutdinova /
Kamila Umarova.
Kabbaj and Quadre pioneer the No. 2 position with a 13-4 mark at the flight and 15-4 overall dual doubles mark, while Khairutdinova and Umarova sit 7-3 at the top spot.
Salma Loudili and
Katerina Mandelikova have been superb at the No. 3 position additionally with a 13-4 mark this year.
FIU has been elite in singles this season, tallying clinch-clinch singles results in 10 matches this season with swift performances and a 52-30 dual singles mark (.634).
Salma Loudili and two-time C-USA Freshman of the Week
Oyinlomo Quadre pace the Panthers with 12 dual singles wins apiece, including a current 10-match win streak for Quadre with a 9-1 mark at the No. 3 spot. Loudili sits 10-6 at the No. 6 position primarily.
Yasmine Kabbaj has been steady at the No. 1 position with a 9-5 mark and four-match streak, followed by freshman
Katerina Mandelikova with a 7-5 mark at the No. 5 position. Graduate
Kamila Umarova also holds a hot hand currently with a four-match streak upon a 6-4 record at the No. 4 spot.
FIU won its first Conference USA title in 2018 and looks to add its second in program history upon a stellar regular season that included a 10-match win streak from Feb. 26 through Apr. 2, finishing undefeated at home (9-0) for the first time since 2018 and collecting four ranked wins this season.
UP NEXT
Upon a win, No. 38 FIU will face the winner of No. 65 / No. 4 seed LA Tech and No. 5 seed FAU in Saturday's semifinals on Apr. 22. First serve is slated for a 1 p.m. ET start.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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@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.
