Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's tennis is back at home for the first time in 2025 as the Catamounts host the Young Harris Mountain Lions on Saturday afternoon on the on-campus courts at the Catamount Athletic Complex. The match is the third of the season for WCU and the first exhibition of the season for Young Harris.
Saturday's meeting is the third with Young Harris in as many years and the fourth over the last five seasons with the Catamounts going 3-0 in the previous matchups, outscoring the Mountain Lions, 17-4. WCU leads the overall series 5-1, with the only loss coming in a tight 4-5 match in 1994.
Saturday's Match:
Western Carolina (0-2) vs. Young Harris (0-0)
Jan. 25, 2025 | 2 p.m. | Catamount Athletic Complex | Cullowhee, N.C.
Players to Watch:
The Catamounts posted several strong performances in their spring-opening losses at nationally ranked Auburn, the most notable being a tiebreaker loss by Jade Groen to the 69th-ranked Ava Hrastar in match No. 2. Groen battled back in the second set for a 6-4 win but fell in the tiebreaker 10-8 in dropping the match.
Additionally, Chloe Schwarz forced extra play from her opponent in first match, battling the 22nd-ranked Merna Refaat on the third court. The junior from Australia fell 7-5 in the first set and was in a tightly contested 1-2 second set before the Tigers clinched the 4-0 victory.
Schwarz and Groen also performed well as a double pairing, battling with Hrastar and Angella Okutoyi on the top court in the second match of the doubleheader. The Catamount duo held a 5-3 lead late but was unable to finish the match as Auburn took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.
Young Harris is led by sophomore standout Viviana Gomez, who compiled an impressive 18-6 record as a freshman last season. She did most of her work on the fourth court where she went 14-4. The Guadalajara, Mexico product ended her 2023-24 campaign on a 7-0 run for the Mountain Lions, including a brief 1-0 stint on the third court against North Greenville.
Angela Perez matched with Gomez in last year's meeting with Perez claiming a straight-set 6-1, 6-1 victory over the then-freshman.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU is back in action on Feb. 1 as it faces former league foe Davidson on the road. The Catamounts then return home for three straight matches in nonconference play against Tusculum (Feb. 3), Appalachian State (Feb. 8), and Presbyterian (Feb. 9).
