University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Journey East for Two Matches
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The No. 69-ranked Minnesota women's tennis team will head east this weekend to take on new Big Ten conference members Rutgers and Maryland. The Gophers will face the Scarlet Knights Friday at 11:30 a.m. CT in East Brunswick, N.J. and will compete against the No. 53 Terrapins Sunday in College Park, Md. at 11 a.m. CT. The Maroon and Gold enters the week with an 11-6 record, including 1-2 in the conference.
ABOUT RUTGERS
Last weekend, Rutgers suffered losses to then-No. 22 Ohio State, 7-0, and Penn State, 6-1. The losses dropped the Scarlet Knights' record to 6-8 and gave them an 0-5 mark in Big Ten action. Gina Li has been RU's top singles player this season, going 8-6 at the No. 1 position. Li is also 6-6 when slotted at the top doubles position, playing primarily alongside Mariam Zein.
ABOUT MARYLAND
No. 53-ranked Marlyand, which plays Wisconsin Friday, enters play this week with a 9-7 record, including 2-3 in the Big Ten after losses to Penn State and Ohio State last week. Alexandra Stanova has played a bulk of the Terrapins' matches at No. 1, going 7-6 at the position. She is ranked 63rd in doubles alongside Welma Luus. Also in doubles, Ekaterina Tour is ranked 62nd with Luus and 69th with Kristina Hovseepyan. Individually, Luus has a 9-5 record at No. 1 doubles.
AGAINST THE OPPONENTS
Minnesota has yet to face Rutgers or Maryland in Big Ten play, but has winning records against both schools. The Gophers are 1-0 against the Scarlet Knights and 3-2 against the Terrapins.
B1G MATCHES AHEAD
The Gophers' non-conference schedule ended last Monday when they defeated Florida Gulf Coast on the road, 6-1. Minnesota, fresh off its winningest conference season since 2003, immersed itself back into Big Ten play last weekend at Michigan and Michigan State. They are currently 1-2 in league action after topping Wisconsin and dropping their matches against the Wolverines and Spartans.
GOPHERS FACE FORMER ASSISTANT
When Minnesota faces Maryland Sunday it will be playing against a former assistant coach of the team in Terrapin head coach Daria Panova. Panova served as the Maroon and Gold's assistant coach from 2008-12 under Tyler Thomson, helping lead the team to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, its first appearance in the event in nine years. She is currently in her third season at UMD.
LAMBERT HEATING UP, MOVING UP
Senior Aria Lambert has won 10 of her last 12 singles matches and is 13-3 on the spring at four different positions. The Deephaven, Minn. native now has 75-career singles wins to her credit, tying her with Karin Eneberg for 11th in program history.
A GOOD PARTNER
Redshirt junior Julia Courter has stood out in doubles this season. She is 17-6 on the season with a 12-3 mark in the spring, playing alongside classmates Paula Rincon-Otero and Jessika Mozia. With a 6-3 win over South Dakota's Tacy Haws-Lay and Beatriz Souza alongside Mozia earlier in the year, Courter hit the 50-career win plateau in doubles. Now at 55-career singles wins, she is ranked 48th nationally with Rincon-Otero.
A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Freshman Caroline Ryba has been one of the top players on Minnesota's team this season. A recent six-match winning streak at the No. 2 position helped push the Glenview, Ill. native's spring record to 10-3.
UP AND COMING
Minnesota is looking to build upon a successful 2014 campaign. Last year, the Gophers posted their highest win total since 2003 at 17. After beginning last season unranked, the Maroon and Gold climbed as high at 55th en route to a seven-win improvement from the previous season. This season, the Maroon and Gold began the year at No. 71 and is now 69th after an 11-6 start. They are 8-1 at home and recently had a six-match win streak.
HOW THE SCORING WORKS
For Big Ten play, three doubles matches will be played to begin the dual. Each match is a one-game pro set to eight, with a tiebreak at seven-all. The first team to earn two doubles wins earns one team point. Doubles play will followed by six singles matches (best two of three sets--tie-breaks at six-all). Each singles match is worth one team point. Traditional (ad) scoring is in effect for conference play.
Players Mentioned
