CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team will close out its regular-season slate on the road with a pair of Southern Conference dual matches at Wofford on Friday, April 15, at 3 p.m. (ET) at the Reeves Tennis Center in Spartanburg, S.C., and at Western Carolina on Saturday, April 16, at 10 a.m. (ET) at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, N.C.
The Cougars (16-7, 8-0) are one win away from clinching the No. 1 seed at the upcoming 2011 SoCon Tennis Championships on April 20-23 in Chattanooga, Tenn. They are gunning for their second-straight regular-season championship title after topping UNCG and Furman for sole possession of the conference lead this past weekend at Patriots Point.
The Terriers (10-13, 2-7) and the Catamounts (2-13, 1-8) will look to challenge CofC's current nine-match winning streak which dates back to a 6-1 win over Cornell on March 22. Three of the team's four road victories this season were 7-0 shutouts versus SoCon foes in Davidson, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
"We will play a much-improved Wofford team on Friday with the hopes of securing the No. 1 tournament seed," CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. "We have already received a bye, but the No. 1 seed is something we would be very proud to earn for two consecutive years. Both will be tough matches for us and hopefully, if we can squeak one out against Wofford, we can go to Western Carolina and try to win the regular season outright."
The Cougars currently have four of their top line singles players with 10-or-more dual wins this season in No. 1 Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) with a 12-9 mark, No. 2 Emma Hayman (Wanganui, New Zealand) at 13-7, No. 3 Caroline Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) with a team-leading 15-6 record and No. 4 Kinsey Casey (Alpharetta, Ga.) at 10-9. Caroline Newman, Hayman and freshman Kelly Kambourelis (Melbourne, Fla.) are all on a nine-match win streak showing the team's depth this year.
"Every coach wants their team to be playing even better," said Anastopoulo when asked if his team was where he had hoped they would be with postseason play around the corner. "I am real pleased with their efforts. The main thing for us is that the competitiveness is there. They are fighting and working hard on the court. Sometimes the shots aren't going to be there, but as long as your team is working hard, that's all a coach can ever ask for."
