CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The Western Carolina women's tennis team continues its longest road stretch of the season as it heads to Boiling Springs to face off against the Gardner-Webb Runnin Bulldogs on Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 2 p.m.
The Catamounts (7-1) are tied with the 1978-79 team for the longest winning streak in the program's history at seven. While five of those wins have come in the comfortable confines of the Catamount Athletic Complex, where the team is currently 5-0, WCU has found success on the road of late, including a 7-0 performance at Queens in their last time out.
Jade Groen and Isabella Sambola's early-season dominance has helped fuel the current win streak as the two boast a combined 12-3 record in singles so far this season, highlighted by Groen's 7-0 record at the No. 2 spot. In addition, two other Catamounts have hit the five-win mark already as Madison Schwarz and Angela Perez sit at 5-1 and 5-2 on the season, respectively. Neither Schwarz nor Groen has dropped a singles match since the season opener at Clemson.
Andrea Redondo and Jade Groen lead a Purple and Gold doubles squad that has secured seven straight points in doubles play. The duo earned a 7-1 record through eight matches this season and is followed by Madison and Chloe Schwarz's 6-2 and Isabella Sambola and Angela Perez's 5-2 records. The duo of Sambola and Perez have taken four straight doubles matches while the Schwarz sisters have taken their last two.
Gardner-Webb has split its two matches to open the season, taking a 7-0 season-opening win at home over Limestone before most recently falling 6-0 on the road at Charlotte. The doubles pairing of Emma Shasteen and Emilia Roslund earned one of two set victories of the day for Gardner-Webb. Courtney Fyvie earned the other victory for the Bulldogs, forcing a tiebreaker, but her singles match went unfinished.
The two teams have not played a common opponent yet this season but have met routinely since 2003. The Catamounts trail in the overall series 8-12 but have taken the last two against the Runnin' Bulldogs and have won five of the last seven. Western Carolina defended the home court to the tune of a 4-3 win last season and will look to extend their win streak over the Bulldogs to three.
The road stretch will continue for the Catamounts as WCU takes on Charlotte and Boston University this weekend in Charlotte, N.C.
For the latest information on Catamount women's tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com. In-match updates are on the Catamount women's tennis official tennis Twitter page.
