University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Home Matches Up Ahead for Women's Tennis
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Three home matches lie ahead this weekend for the Minnesota women’s tennis team as the Gophers look to bounce back from a pair of losses last week in Los Angeles.
Minnesota will host Iowa State on Friday at 6 p.m. and Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Gophers will also compete against Division III Carleton on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Gophers enter the weekend ranked 64th in the country and 1-2 overall after suffering losses to UCLA and DePaul at last weekend’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Team Nationals.
Junior Karina Chiarelli and freshman Niltooli Wilkins have split time at the No. 1 and 2 singles positions thus far this season. Chiarelli owns a 7-6 season record, while Wilkins is off to a 5-2 start. No. 3 singles player Alessandra Ferrazzi leads the Gophers in wins with a 9-6 record.
Minnesota is 27-1 all-time against Iowa State and hasn’t lost to the Cyclones since Iowa State won the first meeting in 1977. The Gophers beat the Cyclones 5-2 in Ames, Iowa last season. Minnesota leads the all-time series with Miami 4-3 as the teams are meeting for the first time since 1992. Iowa State and Miami will also play each other at the Baseline Tennis Center on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Iowa State is off to a 2-0 start, including a 6-1 win over Drake, which is the team Minnesota beat 7-0 in its season opener. Miami is 2-4 overall with all four losses coming to teams in the top 40 of the national rankings.
