NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women’s tennis team (4-1) will take on East Carolina (2-2) on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 1:00 p.m. at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. On Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5:00 p.m, the Lady Monarchs will host the University of Virginia (2-3). This match will mark the first ever visit by Virginia to the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. There will also be a pizza giveaway on Saturday. Old Dominion will wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10:00 a.m. against the University of Pennsylvania (1-2). The Lady Monarchs will look to avenge their loss last year in Philly where the fell, 4-1. All admission for all three matches is free. The Lady Monarchs will look to build upon its current three-match win streak.
ODU cruised through Richmond last week, defeating them 7-0.
Old Dominion has two players in the top 100 of the ITA ranking. No. 57 Holly Hutchinson, a true freshman, notched her third victory of the season against Richmond improving to 3-0. No. 89 Borislava Botusharova won her fourth victory of the year, improving to 4-0. Senior Ingrid Vojcinakova improved to 4-0 as well after her win against Richmond.
Meet East Carolina:
The East Carolina Pirates have started their season 2-2 with wins against Appalachian State and North Carolina Central, while their loses have come against N.C. State and Davidson. The Pirates lost to N.C State 6-1, winning a point in the No. 2 singles match. East Carolina swept Appalachian State in their second match 7-0 and defeated North Carolina Central, 6-1. In their last match, the Pirates fell to Davidson 5-2, receiving points in the No. 1 and No. 5 singles spots.
Sophomore Celia Ruiz is 3-1 at the season in the No. 1 spot for the Pirates. Freshman Lisa Hofbauer has started the season 3-1 at the No. 2 spot in singles. She is coming off her first loss of the season.
Meet Virginia:
The University of Virginia has seen its most successful period under Mark Guilbeau since his hire in 2005. Coach Guilbeau has led the Cavaliers to ten NCAA tournaments in his time at Virginia, reaching as far as the Elite Eight last season. In addition, the Cavaliers have also produced a two-time NCAA Singles Champion Danielle Collins, who graduated after winning the singles title last season.
The Virginia Cavaliers have started the season 2-3 with wins against Boston College and Syracuse. Virginia lost matches to Ole Miss, Wake Forest and South Carolina. Virginia started its season with a win against Boston College, 4-3. The Cavaliers then hosted a regional in the ITA Kickoff Weekend where they went 0-2, the losses came against Ole Miss by a score of 4-3 and Wake Forest, 4-0. Virginia beat Syracuse 6-1 before falling to South Carolina, 4-1. The Cavaliers will play their first two matches away from Charlottesville this season, the first coming against the University of Pennsylvania before facing off against Old Dominion later that night.
Junior Cassie Mercer has started the season at 3-2 with two wins coming against ranked opponents in the No. 1 singles match. Freshman Rosie Johanson, who was ranked at No. 79 in the preseason poll, has fell out of the latest rankings after starting the season 1-3.
Meet Penn:
The University of Pennsylvania has started the season 1-2, with its only win coming against Temple. Penn started the season with losses to Georgia Tech and Kentucky, both coming during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Quakers fell to Georgia Tech and Kentucky 4-0 in both matches. In their win, the Quakers beat Temple 6-1, only dropping the No. 6 singles match. Penn will take on Virginia on Saturday before their match against the Lady Monarchs on Sunday.
For a complete look at the ITA Singles, Doubles and Team Rankings, please CLICK HERE.
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