CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The Western Carolina tennis team returns to the Queen City for back-to-back matches as they take on the Charlotte 49ers Saturday and the Boston University Terriers Sunday.
Match Information
Teams: Western Carolina (8-1), Charlotte (5-4), Boston U. (5-2)
Venue: LifeTime Fitness | Charlotte, N.C.
Saturday's Matchups:
Boston U. (5-2) at Charlotte (5-4) at 11:00 a.m., February 17.
Live stats: Boston University vs. Charlotte (statbroadcast.com)
Western Carolina (8-1) at Charlotte (5-4) at 3:00 p.m.
Live stats: Western Carolina vs. Charlotte (statbroadcast.com)
Sunday's Matchup:
Western Carolina (8-1) vs Boston U. (5-2) at 12:00 p.m., February 18
Live stats unavailable for this match
Last Time Out
The red-hot Catamounts are riding high after their eighth straight victory following a 5-2 decision Tuesday at Gardner-Webb. Isabella Sambola picked up the clinching point as the 2023-24 Catamounts broke program record for consecutive wins previously set by the 1978-79 team. During the eight-match streak, WCU has secured five wins at home and three on the road. They are 1-0 to start the season in the city of Charlotte as win No. 7 in the streak came on the road against Queens.
The 49ers most recently took a 6-0 win at home vs Gardner-Webb. Both teams took doubles sets, but Charlotte came away with the critical point after a tightly contested 6-4 score on court three. Sara Suchankova and Shona Nakano secured the first point of the match before the home team rolled to five straight-set singles victories. The only set Charlotte dropped in singles play was on court five where Gardner-Webb's Courtney Fyvie fought to a 6-3 set two win over the previously mentioned Nakano, but the individual match ultimately went unfinished.
Boston University is coming off one of only two losses on the season. The Terriers most recently fell on the road to Boston College by a score of 5-2. The Eagles swept the doubles point but Boston U's Victoria Carlsten and Kaitlin Tan fought to earn wins in their singles matches. Prior to the setback to Boston College, the Terriers won three in a row, including two 7-0 matches against Bryant and Rhode Island to go along with a tight 4-3 victory over Portland.
Players to Watch
Jade Groen continues to hold serve with the top singles record on the team as she heads into the weekend with an 8-0 record at the number two spot. The sophomore is the only Catamount to record a singles point in all eight wins this season. However, Groen's best performances may come on the doubles court where she and Andrea Redondo are 8-1. The second-longest singles win streaks on the team belong to Isabella Sambola and Angela Perez, as the duo is tied at five straight. As a double pairing, Sambola and Perez have earned five straight wins on the wider courts, dating back to a 6-2 home victory over Milligan. Sisters Madison Schwarz and Chloe Schwarz boast a 7-1 doubles record at the two spot and have won their last three doubles matchups. While Dasha Osadova is yet to make an appearance this season in a doubles pair, the sophomore improved her singles record to 4-2 on court six after picking up a hard-fought victory at Gardner-Webb.
Lucie Petruzelova leads a Charlotte team that has faced tough competition to open the season. The 49ers faced an early stretch of five straight matches against Power Five competition and picked up a 4-2 win against Oregon thanks in large part to Petruzelova's 6-4 and 6-2 singles win. The junior from the Czech Republic is 6-1 in her singles matches this year, with her lone loss coming against the Clemson Tigers. She and doubles partner Emma Wilkins hold a 4-5 record with losses to No. 15 Duke, Kentucky, Oregon, Clemson, and Gardner-Webb.
The Terriers are led by freshman Uma Bakaityte, who has picked up a 5-1 singles match record through six solo appearances this season. The Lithuanian's sole defeat on the season came during Boston's 5-2 loss to Boston College. The doubles-pairing of Bakaityte and junior Michelle Kleynerman holds an impressive 5-2 record on the season but dropped their matchups with Dartmouth and Rhode Island.
Series History
The Catamounts will breathe new life into a series that hasn't been played since the 2014 season when they take on Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. The two teams have met a combined 17 times with Western Carolina going 2-15 in those matchups. The first-ever meeting between the two schools in 1976 resulted in a resounding 7-1 Catamount victory with the second battle in 1978 going the distance, but still resulting in a 5-4 WCU win. In contrast, Western Carolina has never faced Boston U. on the courts.
Western Carolina has a handful of common opponents this season with Charlotte as both teams faced off with Queens, Clemson, and Gardner-Webb through their first nine matches. The two teams have the same record against those teams, going 2-0 against Queens and Gardner-Webb but falling on the road at Clemson where the 49ers managed to shave a few points off the Tigers total in the 4-2 defeat. Both teams took 7-0 wins against the Royals while WCU claimed a 5-2 win over Gardner-Webb compared to Charlotte's 6-0 victory.
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.
