CLEMSON, S.C. -- The Texas A&M women’s tennis team opens its 2010 campaign Saturday, as the Aggies take on 14th-ranked Clemson in the first round of the annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend. First serve against the Tigers is at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Clemson Indoor Tennis Center.

No. 20 Mississippi faces No. 32 Illinois Saturday at 8 a.m. (CT) in the other first-round match at the four-team Clemson site.

The consolation match will be played Sunday at 8 a.m. (CT). First round winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) with the victor earning a berth into the 16-team ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 12-15 in Madison, Wis.

“We’ve been working really hard for the last couple of weeks, and we are ready,” said Bobby Kleinecke, who is in his 25th season as head coach of the Aggies. “The team and coaches are eager to get started and see where we are.

“This is a tough way to start out. Clemson is one of the top 15 schools in the country, and for us to start out here at their place and playing indoors, we are definitely the underdog. We don’t mind that role right now. This team has some things that they can show the nation, so that is what we are going out here to prove.”

Kleinecke welcomes back eight letterwinners including every starter from last year’s team that went 14-11 overall, 9-2 in the Big 12, and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Championships.

Senior Elzé Potgieter (Bloemfontein, South Africa), a two-time All-Big 12 singles selection and listed No. 88 in the ITA national singles rankings released earlier this month, highlights the list of returners. Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.), an all-Big 12 singles selection and the Big 12 No. 2 singles champion last year, also returns for her junior season.

Senior Christina Amo (Fort Worth, Texas), juniors Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) and Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) along with sophomores Janelle Cuthbertson (Perth, Australia), Sheri Olivier (Topeka, Kan.) and Lauren Santacroce (Spring, Texas), ranked No. 23 in doubles with Frank, also return.

In addition, freshman Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Vercruz, Mexico), who led the team in both singles and doubles victories in the fall after posting 11-3 records in each, makes her A&M debut in a dual match. She is No. 117 in the ITA national singles rankings.

“I’m excited and very optimistic about what they can show,” Kleinecke said. “I really feel good about our chances at every line to win, but there are no guarantees at any line. So for every match we play, if we come out and play well, we are going to make a good showing. If we don’t, it could be rough at the beginning because of our tough schedule.”

Clemson is 3-0 on the season and is coming off a 5-2 victory over Troy on Wednesday. The Tigers are led by sophomore Josipa Bek, who is No. 9 in singles and ranked No. 4 in doubles with partner Ina Hadziselimovic. The pair topped A&M’s Potgieter and Frank, 8-5, in the round of 16 at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in October in Los Angeles. Clemson freshman Nelly Clolkowski is No. 61, and Hadziselimovic, a senior, is No. 113 in singles.

A&M is 2-6 in the all-time series against Clemson. The Tigers topped the Aggies, 4-1, when the teams last met in 2004.

Mississippi is 1-0 entering the weekend after opening the season with a 7-0 sweep against Southern Mississippi on Tuesday. The Rebels boast three nationally ranked singles players: No. 40 Kristi Boxx, No. 101 Abby Guthrie and No. 119 Connor Vogel. In addition, Boxx and Karen Nijssen are No. 7 in doubles.

A&M is 2-0 against Mississippi, but has not met the Rebels since 1988.

Illinois is 0-2, having suffered narrow 4-3 road losses against both No. 11 Tennessee and No. 26 Virginia. Freshman Rachael White is the team’s highest ranked player at No. 33 in singles, but she has suffered back-to-back losses to ranked opponents at the No. 1 line to start the season.

A&M and Illinois have never faced each other.

The ITA Kick-Off Weekend features 15 women’s host sites with four teams at each site vying to advance to the Team Indoor Championships. The team to win both of its matches will join the winners from 14 other four-team sites at the prestigious 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships. As host of the national indoors, the University of Wisconsin is automatically qualified for the 16-team national tournament.

“This tournament does have that NCAA feel, and it adds more excitement to the start of the season,” Kleinecke said. “In our quadrant, any of the four teams could come out winning and advance. Some might think that it is an upset if any of the other three teams do win it (over Clemson). It is always a possibility, and it is good for us to be in that position.”

The Aggies, No. 37 in the ITA rankings released Tuesday, are 20-4 in season openers during Kleinecke’s tenure.
“We are one of the few teams that have not played any matches at all, and I’m hoping that doesn’t come down as a factor,” Kleinecke said. “But in a way, that kind of hides our cards a little bit longer, and we’ll see if we can be to our benefit.

“As of right now, if we stay healthy and we continue on to improve and work hard like we have been doing, then I just feel like No. 37 is way out of place for us. I think this is a top 20 to top 25 team as of now.

Live scoring of A&M matches will be available at AggieAthletics.com.