OXFORD, Ohio - With two new players set to make their RedHawk debuts, the Miami University women's tennis team will kick off its spring season this weekend with two matches in the state of Kentucky. The 'Hawks will play at the University of Kentucky Friday at 11 a.m. and follow that up with a match at Louisville Sunday at 5 p.m.

The trip to Louisville will be the second time that the Red and White visit UL in the 2018-19 season after competing in the Louisville Invitational in early November. The Louisville tournament is one of three fall events that the RedHawks competed in this season, along with the Purdue Invitational and ITA Ohio Valley Regionals.

Matchup with the Wildcats

Friday will mark the second straight season that Miami visits Lexington to open the season after playing Kentucky in 2018's season opener, a match the Wildcats won in a clean sweep. That 2018 UK team went 14-11 in a stacked Southeastern Conference and earned an NCAA Tournament berth, and this year's addition appears to be just as strong. Kentucky opens the season just outside the ITA's national top 25 ranking as one of four teams receiving votes. The Wildcats return four-of-six players from their starting singles lineup last season, led by senior Justina Mikulskyte. They also return senior Akvile Parazinskaite, who missed all of last season with an injury. The RedHawks have three victories against Kentucky all-time, last taking down the Wildcats in 1984.

Matchup With the Cardinals

The meeting between Miami and Louisville Sunday will serve as the back leg of a doubleheader for the Cardinals, who will have match against Bowling Green earlier in day. The RedHawks and Cardinals are no strangers to each other as they have met numerous times in fall events, although the two squads did not play in the regular season in 2018. Miami leads the all-time series with UL 12-11. Louisville finished 2018 with a 13-13 record, hampered by a 10-match skid in Atlantic Coast Conference play to end the season. The Cards return three singles starters from last season and are led by senior Aleksandra Mally, who is currently ranked within ITA's top 125 singles ranking.

Newcomers Join Familiar Faces

Head Coach Ricardo Rosas and his RedHawks bring back an experienced roster with seven returning players including senior Emily Struble and the deep sophomore class of Lena Babunski, Melati Devi, Janelle Ghanem, Priyana Kalita, Milana Lysova, and Makenzie Myers. This core will be joined by two players making their debuts in Red and White in Brindtha Ramasamy from Toronto, Canada and Jordan Ortega-Mendez out of Barcelona, Spain.

Ramasamy brings a wealth of international experience to Oxford, as she boasts singles titles from junior events such as the All-Canadian Junior Championship, the ACE Tennis U18 Canadian World Ranking Event, Copa El Salvador and the Jalisco Junior Cup. She also represented Canada at the Junior Fed Cup.

Likewise, Ortega-Mendez brings plenty of junior-level success to Miami. She reached a Spanish national ranking as high as 71 while still a junior player and qualified for several professional events. Ortega-Mendez also competed in Tennis Europe's U16 Championships and won doubles and mixed doubles titles in her home country in 2016.

"I am extremely excited to welcome Jordan and Brindtha to the Miami family," said Rosas. "They both understand the importance of hard work and preparation. They are committed to fully invest themselves academically and athletically and make a difference in our program."

To follow the RedHawks over the weekend, be sure to follow @MiamiOH_Tennis on Twitter and stay tuned to MiamiRedHawks.com for updates.