MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team hosts Buffalo on Friday, Feb. 19, followed by a neutral site match against James Madison on Sunday, Feb. 21.

 

The match against the Bulls is set to begin at 12 p.m., at Ridgeview Racquet Club, while the match against the Dukes will begin at 10 a.m., at the Greenbrier Resort, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

 

“We are treating the contest against James Madison like a home match,” said third-year coach Miha Lisac. “It will be nice to introduce the team to the fans at the Greenbrier. There are a lot of alumni that live in that area, and hopefully, we will draw a nice crowd and have good support during the match. This is something that we want to do at least once a year. We want to introduce the team to the fans throughout the state of West Virginia, whether it is in Charleston or at the Greenbrier. It is an exciting event overall.”

 

Admission is free for both events, as the team will host a meet-and-greet and autograph session for the fans immediately following the match on Sunday at the Greenbrier.

 

“It means a lot to the fans,” Lisac noted. They want to get to know the players, and I think that’s important. Hopefully, a lot of the younger tennis players will stop by and meet the team as well. For us, it’s exciting to be able to meet the people that are sitting in the stands and watching us play week after week.”

 

In its last weekend of competition, West Virginia dropped back-to-back nonconference matches on the road as the team fell to 3-3 overall this season. The Mountaineers came up short in a hard-fought battle against Liberty, 4-3, on Feb. 12, in Lynchburg, Virginia. WVU then dropped a 7-0 decision at No. 47 Virginia Tech on Feb. 14, in Blacksburg, Virginia.

 

Playing primarily at the No. 2 position, sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 5-1. Sophomores Lyn Yuen Choo and Carolina Lewis and freshman Paula Goetz have three wins each, followed by senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Yvon Martinez with two victories. The doubles tandem of Shaker and Barrett hold a team-best 5-1 record at the No. 1 slot this season.

 

West Virginia and Buffalo (4-0) will meet for the fourth time in program history this Friday, as the Mountaineers look to tie the all-time series record at two apiece.

 

The Mountaineers most recently competed against the Bulls at the 2015 WVU Pink Invitational from Sept. 25-27. Seven Mountaineers and two doubles tandems squared off against the Bulls in the three-day event. Shaker and Lewis defeated Buffalo in the semifinal round of competition to advance to the finals in the Flight B singles bracket. Choo also bested Buffalo in the finals to claim the Flight C singles bracket and record a perfect 3-0 record on the weekend.

 

During the 2015 dual-match season, West Virginia defeated Buffalo by a score of 5-2, on Feb. 6, at the Miller Tennis Center, in Buffalo, New York.

 

Most recently, Buffalo recorded a 7-0 victory over Niagara on Feb. 13 to improve to 4-0 on the year. Buffalo is led by Chantal Martinez Blanco and Sanjana Sudhir at the No. 2 and No. 5 slot, respectively, at three wins each.

 

West Virginia is 9-20 all-time against James Madison (3-2). The last time the Mountaineers competed against the Dukes was at the 2015 WVU Martha Thorn Invitational. The tournament was round-robin style, as WVU faced JMU in singles and doubles action. WVU collected three-of-eight singles victories and three-of-four doubles wins throughout the two-day event.

 

The Mountaineers have not squared off against the Dukes in dual-match competition since Jan. 29, 2011. WVU fell to JMU by a score 6-1, at the Greenbrier.

 

Most recently, James Madison bested Navy by a score of 7-0 on Feb. 7. James Madison’s match vs. Navy was its third consecutive victory shutout of the season. JMU’s Rebecca Harris and Kimmy Herrock led the Dukes in singles competition at four wins each, while the doubles squad is led by Abby Amos and Rebecca Harris with three victories.

 

“At this point, it doesn’t matter who we are playing against,” Lisac explained. “We have to focus on ourselves, and we have to continue to improve. There are certain areas that we definitely have to improve on before we enter Big 12 competition. That’s what the main focus is. We have been focusing on doubles, and we will continue to do so. We also have to learn how to get better at taking advantage of opportunities. It doesn’t matter if it is Buffalo, James Madison or another team standing on the other side of the net. It is about us right now.”

 

A recap will be available following each day of competition at WVUsports.com.