University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
No. 34 Houston
Lady Tiger Tennis Playing Pair in Houston
Mar 13, 2015 | Women's Tennis
The University of Memphis women's tennis team (7-9 overall) will venture to Houston to play a pair of matches this weekend, including an American Conference match-up at No. 34 ranked Houston, Saturday.
The trip will begin with that conference match against the Cougars (10-4, 1-0 American). This will be the seventh matchup in school history with Houston. The Cougars won last year's match-up, 5-2, and are carrying a six-match winning streak with them in to this weekend's match-up with Memphis.
Sophomore Despoina Vogasari leads Houston in singles play. The Greek native is ranked No. 33 in the country in singles, while senior teammate Elena Kordolaimi is ranked No. 107. Kordolaimi is 12-1 at No. 2 singles to lead the Cougars in singles victories, while Vogasari sports an 11-2 mark at No. 1.
On Sunday, Memphis will face former conference foes Rice, on Sunday, at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston. Rice is coming off their first-ever win at Tulsa, where they shutout the Golden Hurricane, 4-0. The win pushed #64 Rice to 5-7 on the season and gave them their fourth win in the last five matches.
The Owls are led by No. 23 ranked Natalie Beazant. Beazant is 8-1 at No. 1 singles and is 18-4 on the season, carrying a five-match winning streak to lead the team. She and teammate Liat Zimmerman are also ranked in doubles play, at No. 67. The duo is 4-0 at No. 1 doubles in dual season play and are 6-2 on the year.
Memphis will counter with a ranked doubles tandem of its own. Alyssa Hibberd and Anki Wind come in to the weekend ranked No. 34 in the country in doubles with an 11-2 mark at No. 1 in dual play and an 11-3 mark overall.
Wind has also held down the No. 1 singles spot for Memphis, with an 8-5 dual season record after picking up a comeback three-set win over Penn State's Katia Blik, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
At No. 3 singles, Marta Morga leads Memphis with 10 dual season wins, sporting a 10-3 overall record. Morga is 16-8 on the year and has gone 7-2 in her last nine matches.
Senior Liza Tymchenko is third on the squad with 13 wins this year. Tymchenko is 7-9 at No. 2 singles in dual play and is looking to restart another win streak. Tymchenko had won three straight matches, including wins over opponents from two ranked teams, before suffering a 6-4, 7-6 (1) loss against Penn State last weekend.
Kathryn Hughes has also battled her way to double digit wins already this season. With an overall mark of 10-8, Hughes is 3-1 at No. 5 singles and 5-6 at No. 4. In Memphis' last outing versus a ranked opponent, Hughes battled back from a 7-6 second set tiebreak loss to win a tight third for a 6-1, 6-7 (1), 7-5 victory. In the loss to Penn State, she teamed with Anki Wind for the first time since the fall and the duo stormed back for a thrilling 7-6 (11-9) win at No. 1 doubles over the No. 65 ranked tandem of Victoria Kisialeva/Dasha Sapogova for their first win over ranked opponents this year.
The two matches this weekend are part of a three-match road slate for Memphis. The Lady Tigers return home on April 3rd, when they host American Conference foes SMU, at 10 a.m. That match will be followed with another conference contest, against USF, Apr. 4th.
Players Mentioned
