BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men's and women's tennis teams are scheduled to host a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet this Friday and Saturday in Billings. The meet features MSUB, Colorado State-Pueblo, Colorado Christian and University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Friday's action is slated to take place at three sites, the MSUB Tennis Bubble, Pioneer Park and Central Park. The Yellowjacket women's team hosts Colorado Christian at 8 a.m. in the Tennis Bubble, while the men's team hosts the Cougars at Central Park at the same time.
The MSUB men's team will battle Colorado State-Pueblo at 12:30 p.m. in the Bubble, while the women will play the Thunderwolves at 4:30 p.m. in the Bubble to round out the first day.
Saturday, the Yellowjacket men's team plays Nebraska-Kearney at 8 a.m. in the Tennis Bubble, followed by the women's team against UNK at 12 p.m.
The Yellowjacket women's team is 5-7 overall and 2-6 against four-year schools. The Jackets are led by senior Rikki Peach at No. 2 singles with a 4-4 mark. Graduate student, Maria Peterson, also is 4-4 at No. 4 singles as the Yellowjackets are coming off of two dominating performances with a 9-0 win and an 8-1 win versus the University of Mary and Northern State, respectively. In doubles, junior Johnna Beatty and Peterson lead the way at No. 2 with a 5-3 record.
Colorado Christian enters the tournament with a 4-1 record and a 1-0 mark in conference play. CCU defeated the Jackets earlier this season in a heartbreaking 5-4, non-conference loss in Denver, Mar. 5. The Cougars have the top three singles records in the conference as Amy Andersen is 4-0 at No. 1, while Kara Williams is 3-1 at No. 2, as is Elizabeth Vertin at No. 3.
Nebraska-Kearney is 6-5 overall this season, while Colorado State-Pueblo is 0-2 in conference play and 1-6 overall. The Thunderwolves also have a 5-4 win over MSUB in Denver earlier this month.
On the men's side, the Jackets are 4-5 overall and 2-4 against four-year schools. MSUB is coming off of a pair of wins against Colorado Christian (9-0) and Colorado College (8-1) early this month. The Jackets haven't played a match since Mar. 5.
MSUB is led in singles by junior Alonso Leon who is 4-1 at No. 2 singles. Sophomore Navin Marimuthu is 3-2 at No. 1 singles, while freshman Kavindu Gamage is 2-2 at No. 3 singles. In doubles, Marimuthu and Gamage are 2-2 at No. 1, while Leon and freshman Thomas Staffileno are 2-0 at No. 2. Sophomore Brad Knutson and senior James Catlin are 2-0 at No. 3 doubles.
Nebraska-Kearney enters with a 6-4 record overall, ranking second in the league in points for with 45. Colorado State-Pueblo is 1-9 overall, but is 1-1 in conference play after losing to Metro State and defeating Colorado Christian. CCU is 0-4 and 0-1 in conference play.
