LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese women's tennis team will have plenty on its plate this weekend as the Cowgirls travel to Texas for a match against one of the premier junior college programs in the nation in Tyler Junior College as well as American Conference opponent SMU.
 
McNeese will open with TJC on Friday at 2 p.m. and will conclude the weekend at SMU on Saturday with the match slated for a noon start.
 
A victory over the weekend would boost a McNeese (0-2) program that was plagued by losses on opening weekend. The Cowgirls dropped a 4-3 decision to Southern before falling to No. 38 LSU 6-1 two weekends ago.
 
Freshman Hannah Brett made an immediate impact for the Cowgirls as she defeated nationally-ranked Noel Scott of LSU 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to help pick up the lone point for McNeese. Senior Andreea Nenu and sophomore Julia Kral also picked up singles victories.
 
Expected to return to the lineup this weekend is two-time Southland Conference Player of the year Klaudia Gawlik. Gawlik is slated to compete in the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles play.
 
Tyler Junior College brings a rich history of success and tradition into Friday's contest against the Cowgirls. The Apaches are currently ranked No. 2 in the ITA Junior/Community Colleges National Rankings and are also ranked first in the ITA Region II polls. TJC has captured 14 national championships since 1989, including four-straight from 2010 through 2013.
 
Competing for the Apaches is the No. 1 ranked player in the nation Joanna Savva while teammates Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (No. 5) and Paige Murdock (No. 20) are also ranked nationally.
 
SMU will open its season this weekend with a match against fellow SLC member Sam Houston State on Friday before competing against McNeese on Saturday.
 
The Mustangs will feature junior Vaszillsza Bulgakova who ranks No. 108 in the ITA national singles rankings and returning All-AAC sophomore Dasha Sharapova who posted an 18-12 record in singles last season.