STARKVILLE – The start of a new era in Mississippi State women’s tennis comes to fruition on Saturday inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion when head coach Chris Hooshyar and his Bulldog squad hit the courts for the first time to begin the 2024 season.
Hired on June 12, 2023 as the 14th head coach in MSU women’s tennis history, Hooshyar will be making his head coaching debut. State takes on Middle Tennessee State at 10 a.m., followed by a matchup against Jacksonville State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
“We are loaded up with matches,” Hooshyar said. “In athletics in general, if you’re not honest with yourself about where you are, you don’t know where you are going to get to. In my mind, the only way to know where you are is to play a ton of matches. It’s no secret that the SEC tennis league is so strong. I want us to be ready for the volume when we get to the SEC, so we are playing a ton of doubleheaders. I am looking forward to going on the court with these girls and starting the new era.”
When facing MTSU, the Bulldogs lead the series 9-4 overall and are 5-2 at home. MSU is 2-0 all-time versus Jacksonville State.
Mississippi State returns five players from last year’s squad, including graduate Alexandra Mikhailuk, who represented the Bulldogs in doubles with freshman Athina Pitta at the ITA Fall Nationals in San Diego, California in November.
Senior Chloé Cirotte and sophomore Dharani Niroshan are also back in Maroon and White this season, alongside juniors Maria Rizzolo and Alessia Tagliente.
The Bulldogs added three new faces to round out the roster in freshmen Pitta, Jayna Clemens and Ava Rath.
Middle Tennessee State returns six players from last year’s team, who went 12-10 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Jacksonville State returns its entire roster from last season. The Gamecocks finished the 2023 season 15-8 overall and 4-4 in league play.
For more information on the Bulldog women’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateWT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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