University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Host Trio of Opponents
2/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The 75th-ranked Minnesota women’s tennis team continues a string of seven consecutive home matches this weekend when it hosts Brigham Young on Friday and No. 39 North Carolina State and Carleton on Sunday at the Baseline Tennis Center. Friday’s match will begin at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s matches will be played at noon and 4:30 p.m.
BYU is 5-1 all-time against the Gophers, but the two teams haven’t played each other since 2000, when Minnesota captured a 4-3 win at the Minnesota Court Classic. The Gophers own a 2-1 ledger all-time against NC State and beat the Wolfpack 5-2 the last time the teams met Raleigh, N.C. in 2008. Current Minnesota senior Alessandra Ferrazzi notched a straight-set singles win over then-No. 79 Daria Petrovic at the No. 1 position. UM has won all ten all-time matches it has played against in-state opponent Carleton.
Last weekend, the Gophers split a pair of home-opening matches. Minnesota dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 25 Oklahoma on Friday, but bounced back win a 5-2 win over Oregon on Sunday. Junior Magdalena Wiecha won all of her matches—singles and doubles—on the weekend, while No. 74 Natallia Pintusava returned to form with two wins at the top position to end a three-match losing streak. Ferrazzi and sophomore Alexa Palen earned singles wins against the Ducks.
Brigham Young began the season with a 2-3 start, but got back over .500 with wins over Denver and Tulane in Denver, Colo. last weekend. Three of the Cougars’ four wins have been tight, 4-3 matches. NC State, who was off last weekend, is 3-1. The Wolfpack’s lone loss came at the hands of No. 15 Southern California, 4-3. NCSU has been dominant in its wins, with all three of its victories coming by 7-0 scores. Carleton, the 27th-ranked team in Division III, has gotten off to a 2-0 start with 9-0 and 8-1 wins.
After this weekend, Minnesota will have one more set of home matches before hitting the road. After a week off, the Gophers will host Big Ten rival Wisconsin and No. 31 Nebraska to open their March schedule.
