LAWTON, Okla. – The No. 20 ranked Cameron University women's tennis team will open up the NCAA Division II Tournament on Saturday, April 28, when they visit No. 14 Midwestern State for the South Central Regional II battle.
The Aggies are 16-7 on the season, and went 10-5 against the region, including wins against St. Edward's, who was picked as the fourth seed in the region.
Announced on Thursday, CU had four players picked to the All-Conference teams.
Sarah Frendo was named the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year, as well as an honorable mention player in both singles and doubles.
Zhenia Shviadok was named first team in both singles and doubles, while
Mathilde Thibaudat was honored with a first team doubles selection and an honorable mention doubles choice.
Sara Petric was also selected as an honorable mention doubles player.
Cameron and Midwestern State have matched up twice previously this season. In their first meeting, came on April 11, when the Aggies visited Wichita Falls for a tough Lone Star Conference battle. CU fell behind 3-0 after doubles play, and despite wins from Petric and Thibaudat, the Black and Gold fell 7-2.
Their next battle came in the LSC Championship Final a week ago. Cameron fell behind early again, going 2-1 in doubles. They then won three straight matches with wins at No. 5, No. 6, and No. 1. MSU came back with wins at No. 3 and No. 4, leaving just the No. 2 singles match left to finish. Thibaudat went up 1-0 with a 7-6 win in the first set and then had a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak of the second set, but MSU's Bianca Duff scored five straight championship points and then took the second set 7-6 and the third 6-4 to secure the LSC Championship.
Cameron leads the all-time series between the two programs 27-25-1, with two wins coming against the Mustangs in the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2016. The 2018 version of the matchup features four players ranked in the top-50 in in the ITA singles rankings, including No. 18 Shviadok, and three ranked doubles teams.
The match between the Aggies and MSU will be at 12 p.m. in Wichita Falls, Texas. Live stats will be available via msumustangs.com. The winner, as well as the winner of the other South Central Region matchup between St. Edward's and top seeded St. Mary's will advance to the Round of 16, which will be held in Surprise, Ariz., May 9-12.
