SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State tennis team begins its 2018 fall schedule on Friday when the Bobcats begin competition in the Rice Invitational on Sept. 21-23 at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston. First round matches in doubles are set to begin at 9 a.m. First serves in the first round of singles start at 10 a.m. However, match times could be moved due to weather developments in the Houston area.
 
Head coach Tory Plunkett begins her 16th season at Texas State and has added two new assistant coaches. They are graduate assistant coach Diego Gravito and student assistant coach Alex Jones, who completed her collegiate playing career last year at Texas State.
 
The Bobcats return three seniors and three sophomores from the 2017-18 team. The seniors are Joy Chia Ming Ming, Julia Navajo-Melendez and Ana Perez. The sophomores are Andrea Fuchs, Rishona Israel-Lewis and Sofia Murcia-Rodriguez. Plunkett also added freshman Josefina Cassara of Barcelona, Spain.
 
Other teams competing in the Rice Invite include SMU, UTA, South Florida, Houston, Sam Houston, Rice, North Texas, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Stephen F. Austin, McNeese State, Maryland and UTSA.
 
In the opening round of singles, Israel-Lewis plays against Lusine Chobanyan of Sam Houston State. Perez faces Nidhi Surapaneni of North Texas, while Navajo-Melendez meets Charleen Tiwari of UTSA. Cassara makes her collegiate debut against Alli Hodges of Oklahoma, and Chia Ming Ming will face Kyndall Misak of Stephen F. Austin. Fuchs will play against Roos Gerritsen of Sam Houston State and Murcia-Rodriguez meets Stevie Ybarra of Sam Houston State.
 
Texas State has three doubles teams and one player teaming with another player from Sam Houston State in the tournament. The doubles teams include Perez and Navajo-Melendez, Israel Lewis and Chia Ming Ming, along with Fuchs and Cassara. Murcia-Rodriguez will combine with Asni Hill of Sam Houston State to form another doubles tandem.
 
In the first round matches, Perez and Navajo-Melendez face Evelyne Tiron and Selin Yaylali of South Florida. Israel-Lewis and Chia Ming Ming meet Laura Cabrera and Charleen Tiwari of UTSA. Fuchs and Cassara face a combined doubles team of Ann Selim of Alabama and Sophie Omoworare of UTSA. Murcia-Rodriguez and Hill play against Alli Hodges and Skyler Miller of Oklahoma.