NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s tennis team will wrap up the 2009 regular-season on Tuesday, April 14, when the Green Wave take on Conference USA foe Memphis at the Goldring Tennis Center. First serve is slated for 9 a.m. and admission is free.
Tuesday’s match is a make-up contest from one scheduled between the Green Wave and Tigers back on Feb. 21 in Houston when inclement weather around the University of Houston campus forced the teams to reschedule. It is also the final match prior to the start of the 2009 Conference USA Tournament, which will be hosted by Rice University in Houston from April 16-19. The winner of the league tourney will received the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
“We’re looking forward to playing Memphis at long last,” Tulane head women’s tennis coach Terri Sisk said. “We had actually started the doubles matches in Houston but wound up getting rained out. I felt pretty confident going into that match. It’s always a positive thing, though, to play a match and that day head out for conference. We’re looking for a victory tomorrow and will prepare the following morning for conference.”
The young Tulane team, which features eight true freshmen, enters the midweek matchup 11-11 on the year and 2-4 in C-USA play. The Green Wave have won three of their last four outings, including a 7-0 sweep of the UMKC Kangaroos on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
As a team, Tulane is 67-66 in singles play in 2009 where freshman Mariam Kurdadze paces the club with an 18-5 singles mark so far this spring, including a 10-3 record at the top of the singles lineup. The native of The Republic of Georgia had a nine-match winning streak from Feb. 13-March 17 and has won her last three outings, including a 6-1, 6-1 victory over UMKC’s Daniela Amelunge on Saturday.
The Green Wave will also welcome rookie Anna Bartenstein back to the lineup. She missed the last two matches with a lower back strain and comes into the C-USA contest 6-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The Wave have shown steady improvement in doubles action, and aim to improve on a 28-32 doubles record in 2009. The combination of Kurdadze and Lindsay Dvorak lead the team with a 12-5 doubles record, while the freshman tandem of Bartenstein and Elizabeth Hamlin is 4-3.
“A lot of people will say maybe we had an up-and-down year, but I don’t think that at all,” Sisk said. “I think going 11-11 on the year when some of the scholarship players weren’t yet eligible (early in the year) and with the schedule we played this year has been a tremendous success for us. A lot of people would not have played the type of schedule that we played this first year, but I wanted to do it this way.
“I think that they’ve done a wonderful job. I think the girls have grown by leaps and bounds throughout the entire spring and they are finally starting to grasp the small things that we have been talking about. In the next couple of years, you will see a much stronger, more confident team because they’ve been there and they know what to do.”
Memphis comes to town 10-11 on the year and 2-2 in league action in 2009. The Tigers have won two of their last three outings, including a 4-3 decision over Middle Tennessee State on April 11 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
As a team, Memphis is 52-68 in singles play and are led by Ashley Murdock, who is 14-7 overall and 9-6 in the No. 1 singles position. Marjorie Ondeck and Sarah Irvin rank second and third on the team in singles wins with nine and eight, respectively.
In doubles play, the Tigers are 31-31 so far in 2009 and are paced by the tandem of Ondeck and Murdock with an 8-2 mark atop the pairs lineup. Murdock has also paired with Irvin to go 7-4 overall with a 5-4 showing at No. 1 and a 2-0 mark at No. 2.
Following the Tulane/Memphis match, both teams will leave later in the afternoon for Houston for the C-USA Championship at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. Pairings for the tournament as well as times are yet to be determined.
COACH SISK’S COMMENTS FOLLOWING MONDAY’S PRACTICE
On Tuesday’s Conference USA match vs. Memphis
“We’re looking forward to playing Memphis at long last. We had actually started the doubles matches in Houston but wound up getting rained out. I felt pretty confident going into that match. It’s always a positive thing, though, to play a match and that day head out for conference. We’re looking for a victory tomorrow and will prepare the following morning for conference.”
On her assessment of the 2009 season to date
“It’s funny. A lot of people will say maybe we had an up-and-down year, but I don’t think that at all. I think going 11-11 on the year when some of the scholarship players weren’t yet eligible and with the schedule we played this year has been a tremendous success for us. A lot of people would not have played the type of schedule that we played this first year, but I wanted to do it this way. I think that they’ve done a wonderful job. I think the girls have grown by leaps and bounds throughout the entire spring and they are finally starting to grasp the small things that we have been talking about. In the next couple of years, you will see a much stronger, more confident team because they’ve been there and they know what to do.”
On how much her team has improved from the start of the spring season
“I would love to have the team we have right now and the way they’re playing that (season-opening) North Texas match again. I can look back over the season and see several teams that I would love to play right now with the confidence levels that we have. I’ve said it all year, this has been a season of baby steps and I think we are moving in the right direction.”
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