BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Jacksonville State women's tennis officially begins the Spring 2025 season this weekend at Samford. The Gamecocks will travel to Birmingham where they will take on in-state rival Samford at 2 p.m. Friday before squaring off with Presbyterian on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Jax State had a solid fall under second year head coach
Michael Helms. The team performed well at events hosted by Charleston Southern, Samford, UAB, and Chattanooga, and had a nice showing at the ITA Fall Regionals in October in Auburn. Now, they turn their attention to regular season competition in Birmingham this weekend.
The Gamecocks will face a couple solid programs to begin the year. Samford has been one of the better programs in the Southern Conference and is coming off a 10-win season in 2024. The Bulldogs went 8-2 at home a year ago and won their first round SOCON matchup against Chattanooga last April before falling to Furman. Samford has already competed in two matches in which they went 1-1. The Bulldogs defeated Bellarmine on Jan. 18 AT 1 p.m. before losing to Mississippi State later that day at 5 p.m.
Presbyterian went 9-12 in 2024, including an impressive 8-3 record at their place. The Blue Hose was picked to finish in fourth place in the Big South. Presbyterian lost their first match of the season against ACC foe Clemson. Before facing the Red-and-White, the Blue Hose takes on UAB on Friday at 12 p.m. Following the showdown against Jax State, Presbyterian will face Samford on Sunday at noon.
Jax State returns plenty of contributors from 2024 and has added some stand out freshmen. Jax State brings back the 2024 CUSA Newcomer of the Year
Irene Artigas. Artigas posted a 12-4 singles record in 2024 and was 11-6 in doubles play as a sophomore.
Anna Syrova,
Polina Ramenskaja,
Zuzana Pavelekova, and
Ella Tuomela all return from the 2024 roster as well. The Gamecocks also added freshmen standouts
Lea Erenda, Emma Le Montagner,
Aneka Patel, and
Ava Thomason.
Links to watch or follow along with live stats for those matches will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. The Gamecocks will return home on Friday, Feb. 7, to take on Eastern Kentucky at the Jax State Tennis Courts for the 2025 home opener.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jax State Women's Tennis), Instagram (@JaxStateWTEN), and X (@JaxStateWTEN) accounts.
