TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State Women's Tennis will play Missouri Western in the first round of the MIAA Championship Friday at 9 a.m.  The battle of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds will open tournament play at Edmond Center Court. The match winner will play No. 1 seed and fourth-ranked nationally, Central Oklahoma.

FIRST SERVE

1. Northeastern State has played 11 of its 16 matches on the road this spring. In MIAA play, the RiverHawks are 4-4 with all wins coming away from Tahlequah. They are 8-8 overall.
2. NSU is the No. 5 seed in the tournament, the lowest seed in nine MIAA seasons. 
3. NSU has secured the doubles point in all eight of their wins.
4. On the doubles courts, the RiverHawks have a 24-24 overall record and have used 13 different pairings. Kristela Vidnere and Maria Popova took the No. 4 pairing in the nation to a decisive tiebreaker two weekends ago versus Central Oklahoma.
5. After experimenting with different lineups, NSU seems to have found a winning combination by moving Melissa Vera to the No. 4 flight in singles where she is 5-2.  Vera Carvalho is 6-2 on court No. 5 and 9-4 overall. The RiverHawks are above .500 on both of those courts. In singles, Sofia Lundgren is 3-2 overall while Vera is 7-7.
6. Northeastern State has suffered multiple injuries this spring with Chiara Carnelutti now out for the season and Maria Popova missing the last match. Popova is expected to play Friday.
7. Popova, Carvalho and Belinda Jayaprakash were all named to the All-MIAA Honorable Mention list for their efforts in singles.
8. Fans are allowed and asked to socially distance the best they can. Court access is not permitted by spectators.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT(S)
No. 4 Missouri Western - Friday April 30, at 9 a.m.

1. The Griffons are 11-5 (5-3 in MIAA) overall and are the No. 4 seed.
2. Northeastern State suffered its first loss to Missouri Western on Sunday in a 7-0 setback. NSU was 14-0 before the home loss.
3. Ioanna Lathouri is ranked as the No. 33 singles player in the nation.

IF WIN: No. 1 Central Oklahoma - Friday April 30, at 4 p.m.

1. The Bronchos are 16-1 (8-0 MIAA) overall and are the No. 1 seed.
2. Northeastern State suffered a 6-1 home loss on April 17.
3. NSU leads the overall series record 24-7. The series has historically had close matches.
4. UCO has three players ranked in the top-50 of singles nationally.

ITA/UTR PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Popova was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and Universal Tennis Ranking Player of the week on March 31 for her match clinching wins. She won four-straight singles matches to increase her UTR from 0.25 to 7.44.

2021 MIAA WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, April 30 - Women's Quarterfinals
No. 4 Missouri Western vs. No. 5 Northeastern State, 9 a.m.
No. 3 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 6 Nebraska Kearney, 9 a.m.
 
Friday, April 30 - Women's Semifinals
No. 1 Central Oklahoma vs No. 4/5 Winner - 4 p.m.
No. 2 Washburn vs No. 3/6 Winner - 4 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 1 - Championship
Women's Championship - 2 p.m.