Friday, March 27
Johnson City, Tenn.
12: 30 p.m.
University of North Florida
at
East Tennessee State
Freshman NIkita van Lierop
WOMEN'S TENNIS WEEKLY:
Lady Ospreys travel for tough test
3/25/2009 6:42:12 PM | Women's Tennis
UNF visits East Tennessee State and USC Upstate this weekend
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The spot at the top of the league standings will be the stakes this weekend when the Atlantic Sun Conference-leading University of North Florida women's tennis team makes a trip north to face two other teams also undefeated in A-Sun action.
Schedule
UNF (12-2, 6-0 A-Sun) vs. East Tennessee State (7-5, 4-0) – Friday, March 27 – 1 p.m.
UNF vs. USC Upstate (9-2, 5-0) – Saturday, March 28 – 10 a.m.
Inside the Matchups
The Lady Bucs had a four-match winning streak snapped Tuesday, courtesy of Winthrop, 5-2. ETSU has played at home only three times this season but has picked up the win each time. In conference play, the Lady Bucs have notched two 7-0 wins and a pair of 6-1 decisions.
Winners of five in a row, USC Upstate suffered its last loss on Feb. 27 to UNC Wilmington, 5-2. The Spartans return from a three-match road trip to face Jacksonville Friday before tangling with the Lady Ospreys Saturday. Daniela Lovera tops the Spartan squad with an 11-0 singles record in dual play this season. Lovera has played nine matches at No. 4 and two at No. 3. The Spartans are 3-0 on their own courts this season.
Both teams traveled to the UNF Tennis Complex last season, and one handed UNF a 5-2 loss while the other was the victim of a 5-2 outcome. Upstate dealt the Lady Ospreys their second league loss of 2008 one day before UNF moved past ETSU to push its conference standing to 6-2.
Looking Back
The Lady Ospreys tout an impressive streak of their own, having emerged victorious in each of their last nine contests. During the stretch that began with a 7-0 win against Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 25, UNF has tallied four match sweeps, and the slimmest margin of victory an opponent has forced is 5-2 (four times).
Both of the UNF losses this season came on the road within a two-day span. UAB busted the Lady Ospreys' perfect record five matches into the season with a 4-3 score on Feb. 20. Samford gave UNF its only other loss by the same score.
Who's Hot
Freshman Aline Berkenbrock gathered wins at the top spot in singles and doubles in both of the Lady Ospreys' A-Sun matches over the weekend. Berkenbrock and junior Raquel Castro notched a pair of 8-4 doubles wins to help UNF to its sixth-straight doubles sweep and keep the Lady Ospreys from dropping a doubles point this season.
In individual action, Berkenbrock sailed to a 6-2, 6-0 win against Kennesaw State and a 6-2, 6-4 win against Mercer. She improved her record to 9-5 on the season with 13 of those results at the No. 1 position and the other at No. 2.
Did you hear?
Head coach Rodrigo Puebla on the team's A-Sun play: “I am pretty pleased with our season so far and didn't know what to expect from such a young team. This group gets along extremely well, and all the girls are dedicated, hard workers.”
Puebla on this weekend's matches: “The weather that is in that area right now will add a new challenge. If the rain continues, we will either play indoors or move the matches back. Playing indoors will put us at a big disadvantage while being on the road longer if the matches are moved will present difficulties of its own.”
Puebla's final thoughts: “This will be the most important weekend of the whole season. We need everyone to show up and play at her highest level. ETSU and Upstate are both competitive year in and year out.”
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