Women's Tennis Returns to Action at Home This Weekend

Friday, March 29

Cincinnati, Ohio

5 PM

Xavier University

Providence

Women's Tennis Returns to Action at Home This Weekend

03.28.19 | Women's Tennis

By: Brandon Eckman, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI –Xavier women's tennis is back in action on Friday, March 29 and Sunday, March 31 for a series of weekend BIG EAST Conference matchups. The Musketeers will take on Providence on Friday at 5:00 p.m. at Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club, moved inside due to weather. The Musketeers will then face DePaul on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the Jim and Mary Brockhoff Family Tennis Facility.

THE OPPONENT: PROVIDENCE

The Friars finished 4-16 in 2017-18, including an 0-4 mark in the BIG EAST regular season. As the No. 10 seed, Providence fell to Creighton, 4-0, in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
The two teams last faced off in 2016-17, a 7-0 win for the Musketeers.
The Friars are 3-12 so far this season and lost their first two BIG EAST matchups.
In their last outing, Providence fell to Seton Hall, 0-7, on the road.
Providence is led by one senior: Risa Takenaka. The Friars are coached by Jakob Klaeson

THE OPPONENT: DEPAUL

The Blue Demons finished last season 10-11 overall and 3-2 against BIG EAST teams.
DePaul defeated Creighton, 4-1, and Marquette, 4-2, to advance to the BIG EAST
Championship match, where the Blue Demons fell to St. John's 4-2.
In the regular season, Xavier fell, 4-1 to the Blue Demons, with the point coming on a sweep of doubles play for the Musketeers.
DePaul is 4-9 so far this season and is currently on a three-match losing streak.
The Blue Demons are 0-8 on the road this season.
The team will play in their first conference match of the season on Friday, March 29.
The Blue Demons will face Marquette at home before traveling to face the Musketeers.

LAST TIME OUT: MARQUETTE

Xavier women's tennis collected their 13th straight win on March 23, moving to 15-2 on the season, after defeating Marquette, 4-2, at Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club.
Xavier collected the doubles point and took a 1-0 lead with a victory in the No. 2 spot from Sophia Abelson and Kaitlin Ruether. Hunter Roper and Rachael Reichenbach secured the doubles point with a 6-0 win in the No. 3 spot
In singles, Xavier extended their lead to 2-0 after Sophia Abelson secured a 6-3, 6-3 win in the No. 2 spot. Marquette then took the next point with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kaitlin Ruether in the No. 6 spot. Hunter Roper came back with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win in the No. 5 spot, while Emily Thomas secured the win for Xavier with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the No. 3 spot. That win was Thomas' ninth-straight and gave Xavier a 4-1 advantage.
Marquette finished out the match with victories in the No. 4 spot and No. 1 spots over Rachael Reichenbach and Ahmeir Kyle.

THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier's roster is deep and balanced, featuring a number of upperclassmen, including a pair of seniors, Sophia Abelson and Zoe Manion, and a pair of juniors, Lauren Fitz-Randolph and Rachael Reichenbach.
The Musketeers also return a pair of talented sophomores who made an immediate impact during their freshman seasons, Ahmeir Kyle and Kaitlin Ruether.
Head coach Doug Matthews also added a four-person freshman class, Anna Letto, Natalie Moyer, Hunter Roper and Emily Thomas.
Xavier is 15-2 so far this season and have a 13-match winning streak dating back to Feb. 8.

FALL HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier women's tennis opened up fall play at the Greater Cincinnati Invitational held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Returnees Lauren Fitz-Randolph and Kaitlin Ruether were joined by newcomers Anna Letto and Natalie Moyer for three rounds of singles and doubles play. Xavier's women collected 11 wins, with each of its four competitors going 2-1 in singles play, plus three doubles wins.
At the Purdue Invite, Xavier women's tennis collected four flight championships, including three singles flights and the Gold Doubles Draw championships. Kaitlin Ruether posted a 7-0 mark on the weekend, winning both her singles and doubles flights.
At the ITA Ohio Valley Regional, Xavier women's tennis collected 20 singles wins, the B-Flight Championship and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the main draw. Lauren Fitz-Randolph collected five of those wins on her way to winning the B-Flight, beating competitors from IUPUI, Tennessee, Memphis and Miami in two sets each on her way to the championship match of the 64- competitor bracket.
A the UC Tennis Pam Whitehead Invitational, Xavier women's tennis came away with the top two doubles finishes and a pair of team wins in the hidden dual format. Xavier fell to host Cincinnati, and picked up team wins over Chattanooga and Illinois Chicago. Xavier went 9-2 in doubles play and 11-9 in singles play.