Tennis: WVU Heads to Huntington
February 04, 2010 05:30 PM | General
By Tiffany Doolittle for MSNsportsNET.com
February 4, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University tennis team will travel to Huntington, W.Va., on Feb. 5, to compete against Marshall at 5 p.m.
The Mountaineers (3-0) completed last weekend with a 2-0, record after big wins against Liberty on Friday in a 5-2, match, followed by a 4-3, victory over James Madison on Sunday.
Mathis and Cardenas both had an undefeated weekend, leaving them with an overall record of 6-0, for the regular season. The team’s victory over Liberty brought its energy up for the match against JMU, where the Mountaineers swept the doubles competition and finished with another win.
“If we improve on our performance from the top three girls in our singles lineup, we should be competitive in all three matches against Marshall,” says coach March Walters. “I know we are capable of doing that.”
The Mountaineers fell to Marshall, 7-0, in their meeting last season at the Ridgeview Racquet Club in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
“I expect to see us play with relaxed confidence this time around,” adds Walters. “They are growing with each match and they seem to have some momentum. They believe in themselves right now.”
The singles line-up will consist of senior Stephanie LaFortune and redshirt junior Monique Burton as the No.1 doubles pair and the No. 1 and 2 singles competitors, along with junior Ashley Pilsbury, sophomore Veronica Cardenas and freshmen Liv Pettersson and Emily Mathis who will also compete for the Mountaineers this weekend.
“Marshall is always solid as a top 50 level program, so that will be a stern test,” says Walters. “Coach (John) Mercer has a classy team that plays a national level schedule and has some real bullets in his lineup, so I am looking forward to seeing what we can do with them and who on our team is going to step up their games.”
The Mountaineers will continue competition through the weekend with matches against Miami-Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 6, in Huntington, W.Va., followed by a trip to Eastern Kentucky on Sunday Feb. 7.
“Miami and EKU are toss-ups, but as road matches, we will have to be tough against home crowds and travel legs,” adds Walters.
