CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's tennis closes out its four-match homestand on Friday as the Catamounts welcome Young Harris to the Catamount Athletics Complex for nonconference action as the first serve is slated for 2 p.m. The Catamounts have a quick turnaround with the opener of a four-match road swing on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Queens in Charlotte.
Friday's matchup with the Mountain Lions will have live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Western Carolina (5-1) comes into the match against Young Harris riding the program's best start since the spring of 1995 when WCU also opened with five wins through its first six matches. The Catamounts come in riding a five-match win streak, which marks the longest program win streak since March 10-24, 2019.
As a team, WCU carries a 21-12 (.636) team record in singles play led by sophomore Jade Groen, who's 5-1 on the year including wins in each of her last five matches. Classmate Madison Schwarz holds a 4-1 mark in singles play for the Catamounts as she's picked up wins in her previous four matches.
Western Carolina continues its strong doubles play with a 12-5 record led by Groen and junior Andrea Redondo, as the pair has earned wins in five of six doubles matches thus far in the 2024 season.
Young Harris comes into play on Friday with a 2-2 record. The Mountain Lions have earned wins in back-to-back matches over Lincoln Memorial (4-3) and UVA-Wise (7-0) in their last on-court action. Young Harris changed league affiliations to begin the 2023-24 academic year, moving from the Peach Belt to Conference Carolinas.
In the fall, Young Harris freshman Viviana Gomez received a 14th-place ranking in the ITA DII Singles Regional Rankings. The Mountain Lions return four players from a squad a year ago that finished with a 9-14 record and fell 4-0 in the opening round of the Peach Belt tournament to nationally ranked North Georgia.
WCU holds a 4-1 record against Young Harris as the two schools are slated to meet on Friday for back-to-back years as the Catamounts earned the 5-2 win in Cullowhee last season. In last year's win, Madison Schwarz, Jade Groen, Andrea Redondo, and Chloe Schwarz each earned singles wins, while WCU also grabbed the doubles point.
Queens comes into the match on Saturday winless in its previous seven matches after dropping a 7-0 decision last Sunday against East Carolina. The Royals have faced one common opponent to the Catamounts thus far in the spring 2024 season falling 6-1 to Davidson back on January 26. Katsiaryna Tuliskova leads the way for Queens with four singles wins on the season as she plays at the top spot in the lineup for the Royals throughout the opening seven spring matches.
Queens went 5-18 a season ago, serving as their inaugural DI season after transitioning from DII in the South Atlantic Conference following the 2022 spring season.
WCU and Queens have never met in the two school's respective histories before Saturday's tilt in Charlotte.
Following Saturday's match in Charlotte, the Catamounts continue on their road swing with a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Big South Foe Gardner-Webb, with the first serve set for 2 p.m. from Boiling Springs, N.C… WCU defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs 4-3 last February in Cullowhee.
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.
