By: Joseph Hovey
KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State women's tennis opens its 2026 fall season at home with three matches Sept. 18-20 at Betty Siegel Courts.
The season-opening matches come as part of Georgia Mid-Major Mayhem, a four-team event hosted by KSU. The Owls begin by facing Mercer on Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. EDT. Matches against Georgia Southern and Georgia State follow on Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., respectively.
Each of the event's six dual matches will be played on campus at KSU's Betty Siegel Courts. Admission is free. Live stats are available for each of the Owls' three dual matches.
Georgia Mid-Major Mayhem | Full Schedule
Sept. 18
Mercer vs. Kennesaw State | 10 a.m. |
Live Stats
Georgia State vs. Georgia Southern | 2 p.m.
Sept. 19
Georgia Southern vs. Kennesaw State | 10 a.m. |
Live Stats
Georgia State vs. Mercer | 2 p.m.
Sept. 20
Georgia Southern vs. Mercer | 10 a.m.
Georgia State vs. Kennesaw State | 2 p.m. |
Live Stats
KSU defeated both Georgia State and Mercer 4-1 in dual matches during the spring 2026 season. The Owls' last spring dual match versus Georgia Southern came in a 5-2 defeat in Kennesaw on Feb. 2, 2025.
Mercer went 8-14 in 2026, with its season ending in a 4-0 loss to East Tennessee State in the SoCon quarterfinals. The Bears return All-SoCon Second Team Singles selection Sofi Tistavets.
Georgia Southern finished 2026 at 9-13 after a 4-1 loss to Texas State in the Sun Belt Second Round. Evelyn Warkentin, an All-Sun Belt Singles first-teamer, headlines the Eagles' returners in 2026-27.
Georgia State moves into the fall 2026 season after a 5-14 finish in the spring.
KSU is coming off a 2025-26 season in which it went 11-7 in dual matches and finished third in Conference USA. The 2025-26 campaign featured the Owls' first-ever win over a power conference opponent, a 4-3 defeat of Virginia Tech, and their highest-ranked opponent defeated to date, a 4-0 victory over No. 58 South Alabama.
Five Owls return in 2026-27, bringing with them 57 of 82 singles wins from 2025-26.
All-CUSA Second Team selection
Ema Baraniakova is running it back at KSU after a 16-9 junior singles campaign, including 9-6 on court one.
Terezia Baraniakova (14),
Maria Ivankovic (12) and
Irene Serrano Maestre (11) each return with double-digit singles wins from a season ago. Ivankovic earned All-CUSA Freshman Team honors with a 12-8 singles mark while going 9-5 in doubles with Serrano Maestre.
Newcomers
Jenelle Roberts,
Lucie Nouzova and
Adela Zingorova are set to join KSU ahead of the coming season.
Roberts returns home to north Georgia to continue her collegiate career after transferring from Western Carolina. The Sugar Hill native ranked top 150 nationally and earned a four-star prospect rating out of North Gwinnett High School.
Nouzova and Zingorova join the Owls from Prague and Rybi, Czechia, respectively. Zingorova is a Czech Junior Olympian and ranks No. 76 among the nation's women's singles players. Nouzová ranks 104
th in Czechia's women's singles standings.
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.
