Asheville Opens a Weekend of Tennis with Mars Hill on Saturday

THE MATCHUP

Teams: Asheville (0-0, 0-0 BSC)

Mars Hill University (2-3, 0-0 SAC)

Location: Asheville Racquet Club/ Asheville, N.C.

Time: 2:00 p.m.

ASHEVILLE – The UNC Asheville Women's Tennis team will open their spring season with a weekend full of tennis at the Asheville Racquet Club. They will start the weekend with a non-conference home match against Mars Hill University on Saturday, January 16. The following day, they will host North Carolina A&T at 3:00p.m.

NOTABLES

Flashback to Fall: The Bulldogs saw success from multiple athletes in their fall season. Senior Lauren Brooker and freshman Kylee Shipley led the way in singles, with each posting a team-high four victories. In doubles, the Bulldogs were paced by the combination of freshmen Christin Louw and Hannah Francisco who led the team with a 4-2 mark.

Big South Preseason: Asheville was selected sixth overall in the 2016 Big South Conference Preseason Poll released on January 12. Last year, the Bulldogs finished sixth in the regular season, and fell to Winthrop (0-4) in the first round of the Big South Conference Tournament.

Senior Status: The Bulldogs' roster features two seniors for the 2016 season, Ericka Rivero from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and Lauren Brooker from Wake Forest, N.C. Rivero played in the number one singles spot for Asheville for the majority of their 2015 season, and posted a 10-9 doubles record when paired with Emily McNall. Brooker finished the 2015 season with an overall singles record of 8-5, and posted a 13-6 overall doubles record with her partner, Christin Boissevain.

QUOTEABLES FROM HEAD COACH LISE GREGORY

On the Weekend Matches - "Saturday will be our first match of the spring season, and we will be playing with a very young team. Fifty percent of the team will be freshman, so we are hoping to use this as an opportunity to get comfortable in the competition setting. There will certainly be a few more nerves than usual, but I expect us to compete as use these matches to set a tone for the season.”

UP NEXT

-Following Saturday's match, Asheville will reset quickly, and play host to North Carolina A&T the next day, January 17 at 3:00 p.m. at the Asheville Racquet Club.