The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FRESHMAN Sydney Clarke and her University of Arlington at Birmingham women’s tennis team suffered another loss on Saturday at the Rula Tennis Pavilion in Starkville, Mississippi.

The Blazers got whitewashed 7-0 by Mississippi State Bulldogs as they dropped their third straight loss to a Power 5 school to start their spring collegiate season at the bottom of the spectrum at 0-3.

“The match was very intense and my opponents were very strong,” Clarke said. “We played another SEC like University of Alabama, who will help us prepare for our conference playoffs.”

Clarke, the 19-year-old immediate past top junior female tennis player in the Bahamas, lost her singles match 6-2, 6-1 to Chloe Cirotte from Mississippi.

“My performance was a bit flat, but I gave it my all,” Clarke noted. “My opponent plays just like me, which made it tough for me to stay in control.”

Clarke also teamed up with Annalisa Smith to play doubles for the Blazers, but they were defeated 6-1 by the Bulldogs’ combo of Maga Adaloglou and Marta Falceto.

Despite their loss, Clarke is still optimistic that UAB could and will play better as the season progresses.

“As a team, we are progressing slowly and getting better in the areas we are weak in,” she lamented. “However, I hope for two of my teammates, who are out at the moment to get back on the court. It will help us a lot with our doubles to see them back on the court.”

The Blazers are expected to be back in action on Wednesday against Mercer, in a match that is being rescheduled since a postponement on February 9. The match will be played at their home facility at the George Ward Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

“My teammate and I hope to see improvement rather than regression,” Clarke stressed.

“Our main goal is to get better in our doubles. Doubles is the main thing we need to get better at. Also in singles, we need to be more aggressive when playing instead of holding back or being scared.”

The Blazers won’t have much rest as they will return to the court on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14 when they host Alabama A&M at George Ward Park. They have more than 20 matches on the schedule as they look to qualifying to compete at their Conference USA Championships from April 22-25.

Clarke, who stands at 5-feet, 5-inches, graduated from Windsor High School and the Albany Tennis Academy last year during the coronavirus pandemic. Before enrolled at the school and academy, Clarke attended CR Walker Secondary High.

Up to last year, Clarke was the Bahamas’ top girls’ player in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association ranking. While she represented the Bahamas at the Fed Cup of Billie Jean Cup for the past three years.

Clarke, who was previously ranked in the under-18 girls division, is the daughter of Shayvon and Bernrd Clarke. She has a younger sister, Sarai, who is following in her footsteps as one of the top junior players in the country now.