KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State women's tennis team will look to rebound from an 0-4 start in the Atlantic Sun Conference as they face off with the University of North Florida on Friday morning, followed by a match against Jacksonville University on Saturday. 

The match starts on Friday at 10:00 a.m. at the KSU Tennis Center against the No. 70-ranked Ospreys, while first serve against Jacksonville is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The Lady Owls (7-8, 0-4 A-Sun) are led by sophomore Vera Shkundina, who holds a 10-5 overall record this spring at the No. 1 singles spot, including a 2-2 mark in A-Sun matches.  Also having solid spring campaigns are freshman Therese Lagerkvist (11-4, 2-2 A-Sun) and junior Agatha Palider (8-3, 2-2 A-Sun).  The Owls Achilles' Heel this season has been doubles, where the team is a combined 18-26, including 1-11 in the conference.  In both 4-3 conference losses, the Owls have conceded the doubles point and split the singles matches.

"We have been focusing a lot on doubles this week at practice," said head coach Brandon Padgett.  "Against Troy this week, we had a solid match at No. 1 from Ayano Tanaka and Vera Shkundina, and we had chances at No. 3.  We're going to give it all we have from the beginning and see what happens."

The Ospreys (12-1, 4-0 A-Sun) are led by last year's Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year, Aline Berkenbrock, who has started the spring off with 13 consecutive victories at the No. 1 singles spot.  The Ospreys recently entered the national rankings at No. 70 after their hot start to the season.  Their lone loss came back on February 21, a 4-3 defeat at the hands of College of Charleston.

"We know that UNF is bringing in a solid team tomorrow," added Padgett.  "We have dropped two 4-3 decisions to two of the best teams in the conference (Campbell and USC-Upstate) so we can compete with anyone in this conference."

On Saturday, the Owls face off with Jacksonville (8-5, 2-2 A-Sun) in a rematch of the most exciting match of the 2008-09 season, a 4-3 win for the Owls.  A year ago, Mackenzie Swindall of the Owls downed Fernanda Carrero of the Dolphins in a third-set tiebreak for the Owls' first win over the Dolphins, 4-3. Jacksonville will be led by senior Tatiana Soldatova, who is 1-1 in her career against Owl No. 1 Vera Shkundina. 

Parking for both matches is available in the East Parking Deck on the KSU campus.  Admission is free for both events.