University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Minneapolis, MN
10:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Drake University
Players Mentioned
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
/ Tennis
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Home Court Awaits Gophers For Saturday Doubleheader
3/7/2019 8:54:00 AM | Tennis
Drake and Iowa State head north to take on the Maroon and Gold
The Golden Gophers' women's tennis team finally arrives back on home court after three consecutive weeks on the road. Minnesota is set to host Drake and Iowa State in a doubleheader Mar. 9, 2019 at 10am and 2:30pm CT respectively. The Bulldogs (5-8) and Cyclones (5-3) return back to Minneapolis for the second time this year as they previously participated in the annual Gopher Invitational early in the fall season. The Gopher Invitational allowed teams the chance to test out lineups in a non-scoring competition.
"We are looking forward to being back home at Baseline this Saturday," Catrina Thompson said. "We have a tough doubleheader ahead of us but we will be prepared for the challenge."
Doubles
Minnesota has been cycling through various lineups on the road, most notably highlighted by Juliet Zhang and Camila Vargas making appearances alongside Bita Mancera out of the No. 3 position. On the year, Mancera has teamed up with River Hart as well as Zhang and Vargas for a 7-3 record across all pairings. Additionally, Cammy Frei and Caitlyn Merzbacher have silently produced big wins out of the top spot for a 5-2 record.
Singles
The bottom half of the lineup has excelled for the Maroon and Gold in recent weeks. Despite a 6-1 loss to No. 45 Denver, Zhang produced the only point for the Maroon and Gold after a dominating 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win out of the No. 6 spot. Similarly, even after falling in two consecutive draws, Mancera has continued to lead the way in singles action with an impressive 8-2 record. Her most recent losses come from nationally-ranked, Arisha Ladhani of Denver and Anna Makarova of Wisconsin after posting an eight-match win streak.
"Bita has been our most consistent lineup spot this season and it's great to see a senior and leader on this team paving the way for everyone," Thompson added. "We have an experienced senior class and we are looking forward to getting some home matches this weekend."
What To Expect
The Gophers have struggled on the road and look to get back into their winning ways back on home court against the Bulldogs and Cyclones. Currently, the Gophers boast a perfect 4-0 home record on the year thus far and look to defend their house during Saturday's doubleheader.
Live video and scoring will be available for both matches and can be accessed through the link provided above.
"We are looking forward to being back home at Baseline this Saturday," Catrina Thompson said. "We have a tough doubleheader ahead of us but we will be prepared for the challenge."
Doubles
Minnesota has been cycling through various lineups on the road, most notably highlighted by Juliet Zhang and Camila Vargas making appearances alongside Bita Mancera out of the No. 3 position. On the year, Mancera has teamed up with River Hart as well as Zhang and Vargas for a 7-3 record across all pairings. Additionally, Cammy Frei and Caitlyn Merzbacher have silently produced big wins out of the top spot for a 5-2 record.
Singles
The bottom half of the lineup has excelled for the Maroon and Gold in recent weeks. Despite a 6-1 loss to No. 45 Denver, Zhang produced the only point for the Maroon and Gold after a dominating 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win out of the No. 6 spot. Similarly, even after falling in two consecutive draws, Mancera has continued to lead the way in singles action with an impressive 8-2 record. Her most recent losses come from nationally-ranked, Arisha Ladhani of Denver and Anna Makarova of Wisconsin after posting an eight-match win streak.
"Bita has been our most consistent lineup spot this season and it's great to see a senior and leader on this team paving the way for everyone," Thompson added. "We have an experienced senior class and we are looking forward to getting some home matches this weekend."
What To Expect
The Gophers have struggled on the road and look to get back into their winning ways back on home court against the Bulldogs and Cyclones. Currently, the Gophers boast a perfect 4-0 home record on the year thus far and look to defend their house during Saturday's doubleheader.
Live video and scoring will be available for both matches and can be accessed through the link provided above.
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