MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After two months off following the completion of the fall tournament season, the West Virginia University tennis team travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to open their spring season against Duquesne on Saturday, Feb. 2, and Pitt on Sunday, Feb. 3.
 
"It's going to be very good opening weekend. It's always good in the beginning of spring to finally have someone else standing on the other side of the net," said coach Miha Lisac. "We go through so many matches, match situations and so on that nobody is looking forward to competing against their teammates anymore. That's automatically an exciting part of starting the season."
 
Saturday's matches against Duquesne are scheduled to take place indoors at the Alpha Tennis & Fitness Center of Pittsburgh, starting at 4 p.m. ET.
 
Marking the 30th meeting between the two schools, the Mountaineers will battle the Dukes for the second consecutive season. In 2018, West Virginia claimed a 4-2 victory over their regional foe in Morgantown. WVU also competed against Duquesne during the fall at the Martha Thorn Mountaineer Invitational, where the two teams tied in six singles matches, 3-3. Duquesne held the advantage in doubles play, 2-1.
 
Duquesne enters this weekend's matchup with a 2-0 record, after claiming two wins over Saint Francis, 5-2, and Youngstown State, 6-1, to open their season.
 
On Sunday, the 37th edition of the Backyard Brawl is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET at the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Fans can follow Sunday's action from the results page, presented by Pitt.
 
West Virginia has not competed against Pitt since the spring of 2017, when the Mountaineers fell to the Panthers, 1-6, to open the season.
 
Pitt enters the weekend with a 1-2 record but is scheduled to host Delaware on Saturday, Feb. 2.
 
NOTES: WVU holds a 111-107 all-time record over 2019 opponents, including a 26-3 record against Duquesne and a 28-7 record against Pitt ... senior Paula Goetz leads the team with an overall record of 65-80 ... Goetz also leads WVU in singles wins (31) and doubles wins (34) ... sophomore Giovanna Caputo is second on the team with 24 singles wins ... junior Christina Jordan is second on the team in doubles wins (26) … as a team, has won 273 career matches, including 132 singles matches and 141 doubles matches
 
A recap of each day's action will be available on WVUsports.com.
 
Keep up with West Virginia women's tennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by following @WVUtennis.