By: Joseph Hovey
- Jax State (12-5, 1-1 CUSA) at Kennesaw State (10-5, 2-0 CUSA)
Kennesaw, GA | Betty Siegel Courts | Friday, April 10 | 10 a.m. EDT
- Louisiana Tech (14-3, 4-0 CUSA) at Kennesaw State
Kennesaw, GA | Betty Siegel Courts | Sunday, April 12 | 11 a.m.
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's tennis closes the regular season with home matches versus Jacksonville State and Louisiana Tech on April 10 and 12.
POSTSEASON APPROACHES
This weekend's matches provide the Owls with two last opportunities to cement their position in the ITA rankings ahead of the 2026 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship, April 15-18 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The league will seed its teams in the tournament according to ITA ranking. The bottom six teams will play first-round matches on April 15, while the remainder receive a bye to the quarterfinal round on April 16. The CUSA Championship bracket will be released by the league on April 13.
SENIOR SENDOFF
KSU will honor its two departing seniors,
Sofia Madrid and
Izabelle Persson, prior to Sunday's match versus LA Tech.
Madrid hails from Neuquen, Argentina where she became a U18 Doubles National Champion and among the top 3 junior's players in the country.
Madrid's KSU career includes competing in a combined 102 matches across doubles and singles play with 67 wins. Madrid also capped her freshman season with the Owls in 2023 as an ASUN All-Freshman selection. As a senior, Madrid leads the team with 8 singles wins and 10 in doubles with partner
Ema Baraniakova. This season, the KSU tandem became the first-ever Conference USA Women's Tennis Doubles Team of the Week.
Madrid will graduate from KSU in December with a degree in media and entertainment.
Persson, is a native of Linkoping, Sweden where she won two ITF junior doubles titles and multiple Swedish Junior Doubles Championships before moving to Frankfurt, Germany at 14 to further her tennis career.
From Germany, Persson came to Kennesaw State where she's starred in 81 matches across doubles and singles play, with 47 career victories.
Persson has career-long win streaks of five matches in both doubles and singles. As a team, the Owls have won 39 matches with Persson's help. Persson is set to graduate from KSU in December with a degree in marketing.
LAST TIME OUT
Due to inclement weather, the Owls played just one of two scheduled matches a week ago. KSU earned its 10
th win of the season on April 4 in a 4-1 defeat of New Mexico State in Huntsville, Texas at Beckner Tennis Center. KSU won the doubles point for the early 1-0 lead with match victories on courts one and three.
Ema Baraniakova and
Sofia Madrid defeated NM State's Nadia Nemeth and Mariella Gelbke 6-2 on one.
Laura Nadaska and
Rianna Coreisa secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win on three against Dora Kurdi and Whitney Moon.
Irene Serrano Maestre quickly gave KSU its second point of the day with a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Nemeth on court five.
The Aggies scored their lone point of the day on four prior to the Owls taking courts six and one to come out on top.
KSU's Baraniakova sisters clinched the match with Terezia winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 over Gelbke on six, and Ema defeating Moon 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on one.
SERIES HISTORY
KSU and Jax State meet for the 15
th time on Friday. The Owls lead the series 10-4 and have won five straight against the Gamecocks since 2020. Sunday marks just the third all-time meeting between KSU and LA Tech. The Bulldogs lead 2-0 and won 4-0 in Ruston on April 4, 2025.
KNOW THE FOE
Jax State (12-5) has won two of its last three matches with a 4-1 win versus WKU and 4-3 over South Alabama along with a 4-0 loss to UAB. The Owls and Gamecocks share common opponents in the Jaguars, Blazers and Troy. Both teams beat Troy and South Alabama, though KSU beat UAB 4-3 while Jax State suffered a shutout to the Blazers. The Gamecocks are 44-31 (.587) in singles play and 27-14 (.659) in doubles.
LA Tech (14-3) won nine straight matches from Feb. 15 to March 21. The Bulldogs now have wins in two of their last three, with defeats of Texas State (4-1) and Tarleton State (4-2) alongside a 4-0 loss to No. 54 Rice. Both KSU and LA Tech have beaten their common opponents in Middle Tennessee and UAB.
The Bulldogs are 57-26 (.687) in singles and 26-14 (.650) in doubles with the nation's 69
th-ranked pair in Zoie Epps and Isabelle Walker.
The Champions Fund
The Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching, travel and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition, wellness and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund here and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.
