Antonaki Takes On NCAA Singles Championships

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The NCAA Singles Championships are slated to begin on Monday, May 23 with Mississippi State women’s tennis standout Emmanouela Antonaki representing the Bulldogs in singles action at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill. 
 
Antonaki, ranked 62^nd nationally, will meet North Carolina’s 55^th-ranked Fiona Crawley (22-2 in singles) at 10 a.m. CT in the opening round of the 64-player field. The singles competition will be conducted May 23-28. 
 
This marks Antonaki’s third consecutive year to compete in the NCAA singles Championship. She is the second player in MSU women’s tennis history to reach the NCAA Singles Championships three times, joining Jasmine Lee (2015-17). 
 
The senior from Athens, Greece has earned an overall record of 22-16 in singles. Her 22 singles wins are tied for the team lead. It was the third time she had posted at least 20 singles wins in a single season. 
 
Antonaki has accumulated a total of seven ranked wins during the season. She is 10-3 against Southern Region opponents, 8-4 in dual play and 9-6 at home. 
 
Of Antonaki’s 15 dual match victories, 10 of those came at the No. 1 position. She had four separate winning streaks of at least three matches. During the spring, she strung together a five-match winning streak. Antonaki remained ranked throughout the season, ranked as high as 50^th nationally. 
 
Automatic qualification into the Division l singles championships was awarded to any conference with one or more eligible singles players ranked in the ITA Top 125 for eligible/entered singles players. The subcommittee applied the NCAA selection criteria to select which student-athletes is a qualifier from those conferences. 
 
All singles players must have had a minimum of 13 started singles matches, with six matches in the spring, to be selected as an automatic qualifier or at-large selection. 
 
For more information on the Bulldog women’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateWT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.