Cullowhee, N.C. -- Catamount women's tennis returns to action for a busy week as they face the Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) Knights Monday evening in nonconference action in Orlando, Fla. The Monday night bout with the Knights is the first of three neutral site matches for the Catamounts as they also face Lamar (March 12) and Fairfield (March 13) during the spring break tournament action.
WCU (6-7) enters Monday's match most recently falling on the road at Kennesaw State. With only six matches under its belt this season, FDU is 2-4 after most recently falling 7-0 to Penn. The Knights have wins over conference foe LIU (5-2) and St. John's (4-3).
The Catamounts and Knights have met on the courts just once before during the 2018-19 season. WCU took the first meeting 6-1 as the two teams also battled it out in Orlando that year.
Monday's Tennis Matchup:
Western Carolina (6-7, 0-1 SoCon) vs FDU (2-4, 1-0 NEC)
USTA National Center – Orlando, Fla. - 6 p.m.
Players to Watch:
Jade Groen rides into spring break action after an impressive 3-0 singles week and havin picked up a top-100 doubles win with
Chloe Schwarz against Furman's #58th ranked duo of Ellie Schulson and Sara Snyder. Groen was named the SoCon Women's Tennis Player of the Week for her performance, becoming the first Catamount to earn three weekly honors from the league office. She is 7-2 on the top court and has won her last five decisions, four of which have come in straight sets.
Chloe Schwarz and freshman
Hokualohi Lui are also above .500 in singles play this season, with Schwarz commanding a 6-1 record as the individual third seed. Her last three singles battles have gone the distance, but the Australian junior emerged the victor in her most recent two coming into the week. Lui had won three straight singles matches before falling in three sets at Kennesaw State and is looking to get back in the win column this week.
The Knights still look to find their footing this season as no individual has more than two singles wins as Yelena Kim, Alena Kubanov, Anastasia Lim, and Valentina Silva all have a pair of wins in solo play, while freshman Ann Kato is undefeated with a 1-0 record on the sixth court this season.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Catamount women's tennis stays in Florida to face the Lamar Cardinals on Wednesday, March 12, before closing spring break play with the Fairfield Stags on Thursday, March 13. WCU returns to Cullowhee to host the NC A&T Aggies on March 21 before hitting the final stretch of conference play beginning with the Samford Bulldogs on March 23.
