Cullowhee, N.C. -- The Western Carolina women's tennis team hits the final stretch of the 2024 regular season as the Catamounts head to the Yellowhammer State to take on the Samford Bulldogs for a Friday, March 29 matchup.
Friday's Matchup
Western Carolina (8-11, 0-4 SoCon) at Samford (5-10, 1-2 SoCon)
March 29 | 2:30 p.m. | Pat. M Courington Tennis Pavillion | Birmingham, Ala.
Watch: https://tinyurl.com/mry8espj
Last Time Out
A short-handed Catamount team fell at home to the Furman Paladins in a 5-2 matchup at the Catamount Athletics Complex. The Paladins claimed a 5-0 lead on the day before Isabella Sambola and Jade Groen claimed singles victories on courts one and two in straight sets to prevent the shutout.
Samford most recently notched a hard-fought 4-3 win in Spartanburg over the Wofford Terriers. With the match tied at three all, Samford's Emily Surcey and Wofford's Brianna Wilbur battled on the second court in the third set, eventually pushing to a tiebreaker for the crucial conference win. Surcey triumphed to take the 7-6 (8-6) win, securing Samford's first conference win of the season and their second victory in a row.
Players to Watch
Both teams are led in terms of overall record by their main competitors on the second court. Jade Groen leads the Catamounts with a 12-2 record as the second seed while Samford's Emily Surcey leads the Bulldogs in the same spot with a 9-6 record. The two have also found success in conference play as Groen carries a 3-1 SoCon record into the matchup while Surcey has an unblemished 2-0 standing.
WCU's Isabella Sambola picked up her eighth singles win of the season against Furman's Maeve Thornton and is the only other Catamount to post a positive record on the singles courts this season. The sophomore from Louisiana is on a two-match run against conference opponents with straight-set singles wins against Furman and UNCG.
Common Opponents
The Catamounts and Bulldogs have shared the courts with three common opponents this season and have the same 1-2 record against them. Both teams fell to conference opponents Mercer and Furman while taking a 4-3 win over Western Kentucky. WCU took two points from the Paladins while the Bulldogs garnered one in a 6-1 defeat.
Series History
Samford holds the edge in the relatively young series as the Bulldogs have tallied 14 wins since the first meeting in 2009. However, the Catamounts picked up a 4-3 win in Cullowhee last season for their second win in series history and will look for their first consecutive wins over the 'Dogs this year in Birmingham.
