Tennis Heads to Annapolis to Face Longwood, Navy
2/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's tennis team continues its spring slate this weekend, heading to Annapolis, Md. and the U.S. Naval Academy for two matches in as many days.
The Hall (0-2) will take on Longwood Friday evening before returning to the court Saturday morning to face hosts Navy.
Weather has in part disrupted the Pirates' early season progression as scheduled showdowns with Binghamton and conference rival Georgetown were postponed by inclement conditions; limiting SHU to only two dual match appearances since opening the spring season on January 24.
Head coach Greg Wyzykowski's squad has since fallen at Army and recently dropped a 6-1 decision to three-time defending America East champions Stony Brook but with re-shaped doubles pairings and four of the six spots in the singles lineup occupied by newcomers, there have been indications of what the new-look group is capable of.
Against Army, freshman Katie Kim (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored a singles victory at #4, rallying from a one-set deficit to top Elle Taylor, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-8. In the last outing against the Seawolves, fellow newcomer Isabell Klingert (Oberbalbach, Germany) improved her spring ledger to 4-0 with a three-set win against Cassandra Dix from the sixth spot.
The triumphs by Kim and Klingert illustrate The Hall's improved depth throughout the entire lineup and while the Pirates have found difficulty breaking through in the early going; they have been on the precipice.
Four of the team's six losses in the top-three singles positions have come in three sets. From the top spot, Hannah Liljekvist (Djursholm, Sweden) opened up a one-set advantage against Stony Brook while Marisa Quevedo (Tyler, Texas) jumped out to an early lead at #3 at Army. Luize Liva Strike (Riga, Latvia) has twice battled back from a deficit to force a decisive frame at #2, but has come up just short each time.
In doubles, Liljekvist and Julia Keenan (Greenland, N.H.) registered SHU's first dual match win of the spring by besting Asa Osabouhein and Louise Badoche (8-4) at #1 in the meeting with the Seawolves, helping to set the tone for future success as the new pairings grow more acclimated to playing together as well as their position on the squad.
On Friday, The Hall will look to get in the win column against a Longwood Lancers team that has already matched its season total from a year ago with three victories through four matches. A 4-3 result against another BIG EAST opponent in Villanova has highlighted Longwood's hot start under first-year head coach Bruce Meyers but the Lancers also moved past Bucknell and Mary Washington before falling by one point to George Mason last time out.
The strength of the Lancers' singles lineup has proven to be at the back end where sophomore Mason Thomas is 4-0 at #5 and Lauren Tucker has combined with Nicole Parker to go unbeaten in four appearances at #6.
Top singles player Malin Allgurin has recorded three-straight wins since the meeting with the Wildcats but inconsistency in the middle has forced the Lancers into a number of tight matches as players in the second, third and fourth positions have amassed just a 5-7 (.417) mark.
Longwood has also dropped five of six matches on the doubles court in its last two outings and among tandems that have made more than one appearance, only Parker and Anna Pelak own a winning record - having prevailed in three of four matches at #2.
Selected to finish third in the Patriot League behind Boston University and Army, Navy will present a similar challenge for The Hall on Saturday. The Mids have posted a 5-2 record on home soil and have been powered by the consistency among the bottom half of their lineup.
Navy is a combined 20-4 at the fourth, fifth and sixth positions with a pair of underclassmen in freshman Amanda Keller and sophomore Allie Pavlansky leading the way. Keller and Pavlansky are 11-2 collectively in dual match action and are two of four members of a roster which goes 12 deep that boast a current winning streak of at least three matches.
As a squad, the Mids are looking to bounce back after their three-match winning streak was snapped by a narrow 4-3 loss to George Washington on Saturday.
Navy will take on Howard Thursday afternoon before opening the weekend against the Pirates. Seton Hall took the doubles point in a 5-2 loss in Annapolis last season but that point could prove crucial on Saturday as the Mids are 9-15 (.375) on the doubles court in a dual match setting; including a 1-7 mark at #2.
Start-time against Longwood is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Following a quick turnaround, the Pirates will take on Navy at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Full recaps of the matches will be available on SHUPirates.com
