BEAUMONT. Texas - The top seeded McNeese tennis squad will open up play in the Southland Conference tournament on Friday at 2 p.m. The Cowgirls will face number eight seed Incarnate Word at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center in Beaumont Texas.

The Cowgirls (15-3, 10-1 SLC) last faced the Cardinals (5-17, 3-8) on March 24 in a match that saw the Cowgirls  sweep UIW 7-0.

First team All-Southland Conference selections Phonexay Chitdara and Sarah Jurakova will lead the charge for the Cowgirls along with their second team All-Southland Conference doubles partners Charoline Erlandsson and Hannah Brett.

"We've had a very good week of practice. Our goal is to start the tournament with maximum focus," said head coach Helena Besovic. "This year we've been successful in dictating the game and not slowing down our tempo of play. That's what we are going to continue doing one match at a time."

Southland Conference co-champion Texas A&M - Corpus Christi will enter as the number two seed and face off against seven seed New Orleans. Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, and Abilene Christian are seeded three through sixth respectively.