Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's tennis heads to the Peach State on Saturday as the Catamounts battle the Mercer Bears in Southern Conference play. The first serve in Macon, Ga. is set for 11 a.m. on the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center courts.
WCU (13-7, 3-1 SoCon) is amidst one of their best seasons in terms of record in program history, having scored wins over Samford, UNC Greensboro, and Chattanooga in league play this season. The Bears (6-12, 2-3 SoCon) are on a two-match skid with losses to Wofford and Furman and seek their first home win since a 5-2 decision over the UNCG Spartans on March 20.
A relatively young series compared to other Southern Conference teams, the Catamounts and Bears meet for the 16th time this weekend, trailing the Bears 3-12 all-time. WCU's last win in the series was a 6-1 win in Cullowhee in 2022, but the other two Catamounts triumphs came in Macon (2015: 4-3; 2007: 5-2).
Saturday's Tennis Matchup:
Western Carolina (13-7, 3-1 SoCon) at Mercer (6-11, 2-3 SoCon)
April 5, 2025 | 11 a.m. | LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center | Macon, Ga.
Live Results (IonCourt): https://tinyurl.com/4efhccy9
Players to Watch:
Western Carolina's Jade Groen (13-2), Angela Perez (12-6), and Hokualohi Lui (10-6) each have double-digit singles wins this season. All three earned straight-set victories over Chattanooga their last time out with Groen and Lui carrying an unblemished, 4-0 record in SoCon play. Groen has won her last 10 decisions, while Perez has strung together seven consecutive victories.
Additionally, Isabella Sambola has rallied recently, unbeaten in her last four outings to claw her way back to the .500 mark on the season. She and doubles partner Andrea Redondo posted a 6-4 win on the second court to clinch the doubles point against Chattanooga in their last outing.
Marina de Diego Quinones leads the Bears on the top court this season and is coming into Saturday's matchup after most recently picking up a three-set win over Furman's Sara Snyder. She's won two of her last three decisions, falling to Wofford's Breda Brennan 4-6, 2-6, but taking a 6-2, 6-0 win over UNCG's Olivia Gallagher. Quinones leads the team in singles wins with seven – five coming on the top court – but is closely followed by Jelena Gojkovic and Tea Zivic who both have six.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU returns to the Catamount Athletic Complex to host the ETSU Bucs on Tues., April 8 at 2 p.m. in the final home match of the season. The mountain-rivalry match will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
The Catamounts then head to Spartanburg, S.C. to battle the Wofford Terriers in the regular-season finale on April 12 before venturing to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Southern Conference Women's Tennis Championship on April 17-19.
