Mrgole-Main.jpg
WVU Hosts Toledo, Cleveland State on Friday
January 28, 2016 01:57 PM | Tennis
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team returns home for a doubleheader on Friday, Jan. 29, as it plays host to Toledo at 12 p.m. and Cleveland State at 4 p.m. at Ridgeview Racquet Club.
“It’s always good to compete at home, because it removes certain pressures from the matches,” said Mountaineer coach Miha Lisac. “Traveling takes a toll on a team. We like to play at home, and we like to play at Ridgeview. We are pretty excited to kick off the season here at home.”
“The girls are super excited to compete again,” said assistant coach Emily Harman. “They have a clear understanding of our goals, and these two matches give us the opportunity to execute them. I am excited to watch them compete and see the work that they have put in up until this point.”
In its last weekend of competition, West Virginia (0-1) fell to Pitt in its season opener, 6-1, at the Alpha Tennis and Fitness Center in Pittsburgh on Jan. 23. Senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Habiba Shaker clinched the Mountaineers’ only doubles victory of the day, as they defeated Pitt’s Amber Washington and Lolade Ogungbesan, 6-1, at the No. 1 slot. Shaker then defeated Pitt’s Ogungbesan in straight sets (7-5, 7-5) at the No. 2 singles slot.
The Mountaineers most recently competed against the Rockets at the 2015 WVU Pink Invitational from Sept. 25-27. Three Mountaineers and two doubles tandems squared off against the Rockets in the three-day event. Shaker and sophomore Yvon Martinez cruised past Toledo in straight sets to advance to the semifinal round in the Flight B and Flight C singles bracket, respectively.
“We played against a couple of Toledo players in the fall, and we saw some of their doubles teams as well,” Lisac noted. “We know that they are a pretty tough team, and they are going to come ready to play. We had some success against them in the fall, but they also had some success against us. We definitely have to be ready to go tomorrow.”
In the spring of 2015, WVU tallied its first victory of the season against UT, 5-2, at the Shadow Valley at Central Tennis Center, in Toledo, Ohio on Jan. 31. WVU recorded five victories in singles action, as three freshmen tallied their first career wins of the spring.
West Virginia is 7-1 all-time against Toledo.
Toledo (1-1) split its first two road matches of the 2016 spring season. Toledo fell to Michigan State, 7-0, in its season opener on Jan. 16, but bounced back to claim a 6-1 victory over Cleveland State on Jan. 22. The duo of Emily Mazzola and Sidnay Huck are undefeated at the No. 1 doubles slot this spring.
West Virginia will meet Cleveland State for the first time in head-to-head competition this spring.
In the fall of 2014, the Mountaineers competed against the Vikings at the 2014 WVU Pink Invitational from Sept. 26-28. The tournament was round-robin style, as WVU faced CSU in singles and doubles action. WVU collected four-of-six singles victories and one-of-three doubles wins throughout the three-day event.
Cleveland State (0-2) dropped its first two road matches of the 2016 spring season to Toledo and Duquesne. The Vikings fell to the Rockets, 6-1, in its season opener on Jan. 22, followed by a 4-3 loss to the Dukes on Jan. 23. Isabella Spindler leads the team with two victories at the No. 4 singles slot this spring.
“We try to play two matches in one day because we need experience in different types of situations,” Lisac explained. “It is a learning process, and last week’s match against Pitt proved that we have a lot to work on. The more matches we play, the more opportunities we have to succeed.”
Following the matches on Friday, the Mountaineers will travel to Akron on Sunday, Feb. 7, as the team squares off against the Zips at 10 a.m.
WVU Tennis Senior Day 2025
Tuesday, April 08
TEN: West Virginia Defeats Toledo, Temple
Monday, February 17
TEN: West Virginia Sweeps Cleveland State, Mount St. Mary's
Tuesday, February 11
2025 Tennis Hype Video
Wednesday, January 15
