Women's Tennis Opens Seven Match Homestand Wednesday Against Wisconsin

Feb. 12, 2008

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's tennis squad opens a seven-game home stand hosting University of Wisconsin-Madison Wednesday, Northern Illinois Saturday at 10 a.m., and a doubleheader Sunday against Northern Iowa and Green Bay at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. All matches will be at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium in Milwaukee, Wis.

Marquette will be looking for a victory after dropping back-to-back matches to nationally ranked foes at No. 46 Iowa, 5-2, and at No. 26 Indiana, 7-0. Junior Robin Metzler and Rachael Hush boast the team's best singles each with 3-1 marks.

In doubles action, five different pairs have taken the court. The No. 1 duo of senior Shannon Brown and junior Lauren Little have teamed in all seven matches and stand 3-4 in dual play.

The Golden Eagles (1-6) first host interstate rivals Wisconsin at 5 p.m., on Wednesday. The Badgers enter the match 2-4 after dropping a decision to No. 13 the College of William and Mary at the 2008 ITA Women's National Team Indoor Championship this past weekend, and losing their last four matches. As of Feb. 5, the Badger women were ranked No. 75 in the nation amongst Division I teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The squad from Madison is led by senior Chelsea Nusslock, the only Badger who boasts a winning overall singles record. On the doubles side, the No. 1 pair of junior Elizabeth Carpenter and true freshman Emese Kardhordo lead Wisconsin in doubles victories, posting a 3-2 record.

MU continues on its home court as Northern Illinois (1-2) travels to Marquette on Saturday. Match time is set for 10 a.m. NIU returns all but two players from last year's 5-11 squad (1-7 MAC). The Huskies are headed by seniors Dora Delgadillo and Jenny Edner, who posted singles records of 6-14 and 10-12, respectively, during the 2006-07 campaign. The duo of Delgadillo and Edner paired up to tally a 12-10 doubles mark last season.

On Sunday, the Golden Eagles battle against Northern Iowa and Green Bay. Northern Iowa (2-0) is led by sophomore standout Sampada Kanade, who was named Missouri Valley Conference's women's tennis Athlete of the Week last week after posting 2-0 records in both singles and doubles play. UNI swept University of Missouri-Kansas City 7-0 and topped Western Illinois 5-2. Marquette is the final stop in a three-day trip to Wisconsin. UNI faces UW-Milwaukee Friday night, Green Bay Saturday at 11 a.m., and concludes against MU Sunday at 11 a.m.

Green Bay will be the fourth match of the week for the Golden Eagles. The Phoenix enter the match with an 0-3 record after falling to Iowa State, IPFW, and Dayton, winning only one total point out of a possible 21 in the three matches. Sophomore Lauryn Grimando scored the lone point for the Phoenix against IPFW in her No. 3 singles position. Green Bay's No. 1 tennis duo of Emily Lawent and Grimando proved victorious over the Flyers' No. 1 pair, but No. 2 and No. 3 doubles partners could not secure the point.

MU (1-6) looks to post victories before beginning BIG EAST Conference play against Syracuse in Milwaukee on Feb. 24. The Golden Eagles have faced four nationally ranked teams already this season.