No. 1 Seeded Women's Tennis Takes on No. 8 Marquette in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

Friday, April 21

Cayce, S.C.

9 AM

Xavier University

Marquette (Quarterfinals)

No. 1 Seeded Women's Tennis Takes on No. 8 Marquette in BIG EAST Quarterfinals

04.20.23 | Women's Tennis

Live Stats

Musketeers take on Golden Eagles at 9 AM on Friday in Cayce, S.C.

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CAYCE, S.C. - Xavier women's tennis starts its pursuit of a third-straight BIG EAST Championship on Friday, April 21, facing No. 8 seed Marquette in the Quarterfinals. The match with the Golden Eagles is set for a 9:00 a.m. start at the Cayce Fitness and Tennis Center.

Xavier earned the No. 1 seed in the 2023 BIG EAST Championship, after wrapping up the regular season at 11-7 overall and 3-0 against BIG EAST opponents. Xavier heads into the tournament looking for a third-straight, and fourth overall, BIG EAST Championship and bid to the NCAA Championships.

The Musketeers face No. 8 seed Marquette after the Golden Eagles took a 4-0 win over No. 9 seed Villanova on Thursday in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship. The winner advances to the Semifinals where they'll play the winner of the match between No. 4 seed St. John's and No. 5 Georgetown.

BIG EAST BRACKET

TOURNAMENT INFO

The 2023 BIG EAST Tennis Championships Presented by JEEP returns to the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C., from April 20-23.
Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center will host the championship for the seventh consecutive year. The facility offers 30 lighted world-class courts with a championship-sized stadium court that has a viewing capacity of approximately 500 spectators. There are seven dedicated 38' courts for 8 & Under Tennis. Courts are complete with a small central gazebo, iced water coolers and electrical outlets on every court for ball-machine use.
Seeds for the championships were determined by a committee that reviews each team's regular-season schedule, ITA rankings, results against BIG EAST and common non-conference opponents and wins/losses against ranked foes.
Sunday's Women's Championship match will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) on FloSports. Live coverage of the Women's Championship will begin on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET.
There is no charge for admission. Merchandise will be available for purchase through Shop.BIGEAST.com.

SCHEDULE
Thursday, 4/20
Women's First Round – 9 a.m.
#6 UConn vs. #11 Seton Hall
#7 Butler vs. #10 Providence
#8 Marquette vs. #9 Villanova

Friday, 4/21
Women's Quarterfinals – 9 a.m.
#1 Xavier vs. Marquette/Villanova winner
#2 DePaul vs. Butler/Providence winner
#3 Creighton vs. UConn/Seton Hall winner

Women's Quarterfinals – 12:45 p.m.
#4 St. John's vs. #5 Georgetown

Saturday, 4/22
Women's Semifinals – 9 a.m.

Sunday, 4/23
Women's Championship – 9 a.m.

Women's Seeding
1 – Xavier
2 – DePaul
3 – Creighton
4 – St. John's
5 – Georgetown
6 – UConn
7 – Butler
8 – Marquette
9 – Villanova
10 – Providence
11 – Seton Hall

MARQUETTE

The Golden Eagles are 9-11 on the season and earned the No. 8 seed with a 2-3 record in BIG EAST play during the regular season.
On Thursday, Marquette claimed a closely contested doubles point over ninth-seeded Villanova. Elisabeth Desmarais and Emilija Kojcic conquered the top court, defeating Emily Callahan and Maggie Gehrig, 6-3. Undeterred, the 'Cats bounced back to take the third court, 6-4. However, the doubles advantage was clinched on the second court when Julieanne Bou and Lara Kaiser topped Emma Brogan and Isabella Stefen. In singles, Kojcic once again found success from the top slot, defeating Brogan 6-3, 6-1. On the third court Bou overcame Callahan 6-3, 6-1. Marquette's Elizabeth Ferdman clinched the match on the sixth court with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Caitlin Fisher.
Xavier faced Marquette in the regular season finale, taking a 4-3 win over the Golden Eagles at the Jim and Mary Brockhoff Family Tennis Facility.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After wrapping up the regular season with her fifth-straight singles win, women's tennis junior Imani Graham was named the BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season.
Graham, originally from St. Johns, Fla., won her fifth-straight match and picked up her 12th win of the dual season after taking the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-2 over Emilija Kojcic of Marquette.
The win helped Xavier take a 4-3 win over the Golden Eagles to wrap up the regular season with a 3-0 mark against BIG EAST teams.
Graham finished the regular season with a perfect 3-0 record in singles play against BIG EAST opponents.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier celebrated Senior Day last Friday with a 4-3 win over Marquette at the Jim and Mary Brockhoff Family Tennis Facility.
In doubles, Xavier took a win on the No. 3 court, with Blessing Nwaozuzu and Paulina Franco Martinessi combining fo the 6-2 win. Marquette took a 7-5 win on the No. 1 court against Kat Lyman and Abby Nugent, then secured the point in tiebreakers on No. 2, taking a 7-6 (7) win over Anna Roggenburk and Imani Graham.
Imani Graham took the No. 1 singles spot, 6-2, 6-2, and Kat Lmay picked up a two-set win on No. 2, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Anna Roggenburk took the No. 4 court, 6-2, 6-1, and Abigail Siminski picked upa 6-3, 6-2 win on court No. 5.
Abby Nugent fell in three sets on the No. 3 court, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, and Blessing Nwaozuzu fell, 6-4, 6-4, on No. 6.

THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier stands at 11-7 on the season with a 3-0 record in BIG EAST after the regular season, earning the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
For the week of Feb. 27, Xavier moved in the ITA team rankings, coming in at No. 71.
The Musketeers wrapped up the 2022 spring season at 14-10 overall, brought home the program's third overall and second-straight BIG EAST Championship and earned Xavier's third bid to the NCAA Championships.
Five letterwinners return from last season's BIG EAST Championship squad, including All-BIG EAST selection Imani Graham, Kat Lyman, Anna Roggenburk, Blessing Nwaozuzu and Bella Kirby.
Xavier also added four-person freshmen class, Emily Flowers, Paulina Franco Martinessi, Abby Nugent and Abigail Siminski.