MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team travels to Ithaca, New York, on Saturday, Feb. 27, for a nonconference matchup at Cornell. The match is set to begin at 10 a.m. inside the Reis Tennis Center.

 

“Not much has changed as far as our focus goes going into this weekend’s match against Cornell,” said third-year coach Miha Lisac. “We have played against Cornell quite a few times already, and we want to be able to have a fast start against them. We have to take care of the doubles point. We have seen them in doubles, and we know what to expect.

 

“They are aggressive, so it is very important for us to collect the doubles point. We have to be able to play aggressive and take away their aggressive game from them. We have to take care of each match and take advantage of the opportunities that are given to us. We have to be ready to battle. Everything will have to come together in tomorrow’s play.”

 

The Mountaineers (5-3) notched two victories last weekend to improve their overall record to 5-3. West Virginia handed Buffalo its first loss of the season, as the Mountaineers edged the Bulls by a score of 4-3 on Feb. 19, inside Ridgeview Racquet Club. WVU then traveled to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for a neutral site match against James Madison at the Greenbrier Resort. WVU cruised past JMU by a score of 6-1 on Feb. 21.

 

Sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 7-1. Sophomore Carolina Lewis and freshman Paula Goetz have five wins each, followed by senior Hailey Barrett and sophomore Lyn Yuen Choo with three victories apiece. The doubles tandem of Barrett and Shaker holds a team-best 7-1 mark at the No. 1 slot this season.

 

West Virginia and Cornell will meet for the fourth time in program history, as the Big Red holds a 2-1 all-time series advantage.

 

Last season, Cornell (5-4) snapped West Virginia’s nine-match winning streak in a heartbreaking 4-3 battle on March 7, 2015, at Ridgeview Racquet Club. The Mountaineers earned the doubles point, but dropped four singles matches in the loss.

 

West Virginia and Cornell also crossed paths at the 2014 Akron Invitational, with the Big Red winning five-of-six singles matches and two-of-three doubles matches in the blind dual format.

 

In its last weekend of competition, Cornell split a pair of matches against New Jersey Institute of Technology (Feb. 20) and No. 48 Boston College (Feb. 21), at the Reis Tennis Center, in Ithaca, New York. Cornell dominated NJIT by a score of 7-0, before falling to Boston College by a score of 4-3.

 

Currently, Cornell’s Lizzie Stewart has a three-match win streak, as she leads the team with a 6-2 singles record. The duo of Marika Cusick and Alexandra D’Ascenzo paces the team with a 5-1 doubles record at the No. 1 position.

 

Following Saturday’s match, the Mountaineers will compete in their final nonconference matches at Maryland (March 5) and Marshall (March 11) before Big 12 play gets underway.