THIS WEEK IN BILLIKEN TENNIS
Saturday, Jan. 28 • Women vs. Alcorn State (Jackson, Miss.) • 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28 • Men vs. Alcorn State (Jackson, Miss.) • 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28 • Women and men vs. Alcorn State (Jackson, Miss.) • 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 29 • Women and men at Jackson State • 10 a.m.
 
The Saint Louis University women's and men's tennis teams kick off the spring season this weekend with three matches apiece in Jackson, Miss.
 
The Billikens will play twice against Alcorn State Saturday, Jan. 28, and finish the road trip with a match against Jackson State Sunday, Jan. 29.
 
Six players return from last year's SLU women's team that posted a 13-8 record and reached the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals. Headlining that group are 2022 All-Conference performers Norhan Hesham (first team) and Elizabeth Mintusova (second team).
 
Hesham, a junior, registered a 15-8 singles record that included an 8-4 dual-meet mark at No. 1. Mintusova, a senior, was 12-2 at No. 2, part of a 17-9 overall singles ledger.
 
Also returning for the Billiken women are juniors Mya Spencer and Jacqueline Hijaouy and sophomores Lizzie Barlow and Kate Sexton. Newcomers are junior transfers Ksenia Aleshina (Appalachian State) and Sandra Gines (Campbell) and freshman Fiorella Duran.
 
"I've been pleased with our collective focus at practice," head coach Justin Stuckey said. "We return several key components of last year's team and have mostly upperclassmen as starters. I think we're going to be able to lean on that this weekend.
 
"We face a team in Alcorn State that consistently makes it to the semifinals of its conference tournament, and Jackson State won its conference and competed in the NCAA Championship last year," Stuckey said. "We need to be ready to go from the first points of the match."
 
The 10-player Billiken men's squad is evenly split between veterans and newcomers. Among the five returnees from last season's 8-13 team is junior Ryota Fukushima, a second-team All-Conference selection who collected a team-high 12 singles victories. Also back are senior Eliott Ekindi and juniors Theo Ortis, Adam Behun and Jonathan Sadowski.
 
Five freshmen join the returning group. They are Andres Castellanos, Sanjaya Kodali, Sansh Kumar, Luca Lo Nardo and Sebastian Munoz.
 
"We're excited to get the season started," Stuckey said. "We're playing two opponents in Alcorn State and Jackson State that made it to their conference tournament semifinals and finals, respectively, the past several years, so we know we're getting a good early test to start the season.
 
"We have several new faces this year and will need them to be ready to go and contribute right away along with our returners," Stuckey said. "We've focused a lot on our energy these first few weeks of the season and look to translate that into our first competitions."
 
The men's team plays its home opener Friday, Feb. 3, at 1:30 p.m. vs. Austin Peay. The home opener for the women's team is Saturday, Feb. 4, at 5 p.m. vs. Chicago State. Both matches take place at St. Clair Tennis Club in O'Fallon, Ill.