MSU women play road tennis

Looking to build on a doubleheader sweep this past Monday, the Mississippi State women's tennis team is set for its first road trip of the 2018 season.

The Bulldogs will travel to Berkeley, Calif., for the 10th annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend, to be held at Cal's Hellman Tennis Complex. Toiday, State (2-0) will face No. 12 Texas (2-0) at 3 p.m. On Saturday, the Bulldogs will face either No. 11 host California or UNLV.

In their last outing, the Bulldogs posted back-to-back 5-0 sweeps of Arkansas State in Starkville. MSU's senior duo of Madison Harrison and Khrystyna Vozniak led the Bulldogs on court 1 doubles going 2-0. The tandem of Sara Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli also went undefeated in the home opening twinbill.

In singles action, three Bulldogs went 2-0 in Janina Braun, Harrison and Vozniak. Two netters of Magda Adaloglou and Anastasia Rentouli picked up one victory each. Freshman Sara Lizariturry represented MSU on court 5 but both of her matches were suspended before completion.

ITA Kick-Off Weekend is in its 10th season of existence, with the Bulldogs appearing in the last five. The team in the four-team tournament in Berkeley that wins two matches advances to ITA National Indoor Championships, held Feb. 9-12 in Madison, Wis. A total of 16 teams around the country will advance to Madison.

State's first opponent, No. 12 Texas, boasts a talented singles lineup led by 10th-ranked Biana Turati, No. 32 Petra Granic and Anna Turati, who are tied with each other at 87th. The Longhorns swept their opening weekend by blanking Texas State and UT Rio Grande Valley 4-0.

The other two teams in the field (UNLV and No. 11 host California) meet at noon today. The Rebels enter the weekend at 1-0 overall after blanking Weber State 7-0 on Jan. 21.

The 11th-ranked Bears open their 2018 campaign this weekend with the ITA Kick-Off. The Bears are led in the national rankings by No. 27 Anna Bright, No. 40 Olivia Hauger and No. 45 Karla Popovic. In doubles, Popovic and Hauger are No. 39.