Bulldogs Begin Championship Play on Thursday

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The No. 6 seed UNC Asheville women's tennis team will make its debut in the Big South Women's Tennis Championships on Thursday afternoon when they face off with the No. 3 seeded Winthrop Eagles, in a 3:00 p.m. contest at the Asheville Racquet Club.

Asheville and Winthrop will meet for the second time in five days, following a 7-0 Eagle victory on April 11^th in Rock Hill. The Bulldogs are 13-7 on the year, but have lost four of their last five matches after getting off to the best start in program history. Winthrop enters the match with an 11-11 overall record and as the reigning Big South Conference tournament champions.

The Blue & White have been led throughout the year by senior Emily McNall who is 12-5 overall in dual matches and 10-8 in doubles play. Freshman Amalie Davidsen emerged to provide depth to the lineup, tying McNall for the team lead in wins (12).

Christine Boissevain and Lauren Brooker have been the top doubles pairing for head coach Lise Gregory. The duo are 13-5 overall this season playing primarily from the second flight. Amryn Soldier, a recent selection to the leagues All-Academic team, adds a 9-4 record, playing mainly alongside Hunter Hall at No. 3.

The Eagles have been strong in doubles play this season with their top two pairing at No. 1 and No. 2, each posting 10-2 records for the year. In singles play, they've been led by the league's Freshman of the Year, Mariana Humberg, who was 8-0 in Big South Conference matches this season.

The championship resumes at 9:00 a.m. with the No. 1 seed, Charleston Southern facing No. 8 Gardner-Webb, followed by No. 2 Coastal Carolina facing No. 7 Radford around 12:00 p.m.

Weather in the area has already forced the morning match to be moved to the Asheville Racquet Club's south location and a determination on location for the afternoon matches will be made later Thursday morning.