University of North Texas Athletics
Saturday, April 17
Denton
Noon
University of North Texas
vs
SMU
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
Tennis Hosts SMU On Senior Day
4/16/2021 5:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DENTON — The North Texas tennis team will play its final regular season match of the year on Saturday when they host SMU at noon.
The Mean Green will honor their lone senior Nidhi Surapaneni prior to the match. It fortunately won't be Surapaneni and UNT's final match at the Waranch Tennis Complex this season as they host the 2021 Conference USA Championship from April 22-25.
"Senior day is special and we get to honor and celebrate Nidhi," said head coach Sujay Lama. "It's been great to see her grow on and off the court. We are very proud of all of her accomplishments. This year she has been a terrific leader of this team."
Surapaneni came to UNT in 2017 and was a youthful ball of energy for a Mean Green squad that was one of the best in Conference USA. She earned her stripes in the back of the lineup helping the team to key victories. Surapaneni's early highlight in her college career was clinching UNT's quarterfinal upset 4-3 victory over FIU in the 2019 conference tournament. Since then, Surapaneni has gone on to win over 30 dual singles matches for UNT and be a consistent figure at the top of the Mean Green's lineup. She and doubles partners have been nationally ranked over the years.
Their only senior. Surapaneni is the team captain and leader of this season's team and has been critical guiding a young team through this unique year.
Surapaneni is also a tremendous student. She will earn her degree in finance this semester and has posted multiple semester G.P.A.s of over 3.75 and been honored by the conference for her academic success.
Saturday, North Texas welcomes a SMU team that enters with a 19-9 overall record and is riding a two-match winning streak after being No. 37 Rice and Houston on the road. On March 3 they beat North Texas 6-1 in Dallas.
"SMU has a had a special year," Lama said. "They took it to us at their place. We get to redeem ourself but more importantly it's one last chance to fine tune our game and feel good about ourself going into the conference tournament. To play our best next week has been our singular focus the entire season."
The bracket for the conference tournament will be released Monday.
The Mean Green will honor their lone senior Nidhi Surapaneni prior to the match. It fortunately won't be Surapaneni and UNT's final match at the Waranch Tennis Complex this season as they host the 2021 Conference USA Championship from April 22-25.
"Senior day is special and we get to honor and celebrate Nidhi," said head coach Sujay Lama. "It's been great to see her grow on and off the court. We are very proud of all of her accomplishments. This year she has been a terrific leader of this team."
Surapaneni came to UNT in 2017 and was a youthful ball of energy for a Mean Green squad that was one of the best in Conference USA. She earned her stripes in the back of the lineup helping the team to key victories. Surapaneni's early highlight in her college career was clinching UNT's quarterfinal upset 4-3 victory over FIU in the 2019 conference tournament. Since then, Surapaneni has gone on to win over 30 dual singles matches for UNT and be a consistent figure at the top of the Mean Green's lineup. She and doubles partners have been nationally ranked over the years.
Their only senior. Surapaneni is the team captain and leader of this season's team and has been critical guiding a young team through this unique year.
Surapaneni is also a tremendous student. She will earn her degree in finance this semester and has posted multiple semester G.P.A.s of over 3.75 and been honored by the conference for her academic success.
Saturday, North Texas welcomes a SMU team that enters with a 19-9 overall record and is riding a two-match winning streak after being No. 37 Rice and Houston on the road. On March 3 they beat North Texas 6-1 in Dallas.
"SMU has a had a special year," Lama said. "They took it to us at their place. We get to redeem ourself but more importantly it's one last chance to fine tune our game and feel good about ourself going into the conference tournament. To play our best next week has been our singular focus the entire season."
The bracket for the conference tournament will be released Monday.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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