SHU Hosts LIU Brooklyn, Xavier This Weekend

South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's tennis team returns to the court Friday for a 1 p.m. match with LIU Brooklyn before hosting Xavier in a BIG EAST contest on Sunday at 12 p.m inside CenterCourt Sports Morristown.

The Pirates (5-5, 1-0 BIG EAST) are coming off a 7-0 sweep of Villanova last Friday in their first home match and first league competition of the spring season. Freshmen Melody Taal (Ede, Netherlands) and Michal Matson (St. Albans, New Zealand) rallied for a thrilling 7-6 (3) win at No. 3 doubles to clinch the point for The Hall.

SHU went a perfect 5-0 in singles play behind wins from junior Luize Strike (Riga, Latvia), sophomore Anna Fajnorova (Bratislava, Slovakia), freshman Michal Matson (St. Albans, New Zealand), sophomore Thandy Kangwa (Fort Myers, Fla.), junior Katie Kim (Honolulu, Hawaii) and freshman Krista Cerpina (Riga, Latvia).

LIU Brooklyn (5-3, 1-0 NEC) is on the heels of a 2-1 showing in Orlando March 13-16 with victories over Oral Roberts and Bucknell. Sophomore Anna Grigoryan was named Northeast Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday for the second straight week after a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles in addition to a No. 3 doubles victory against Bucknell.

Xavier (6-7, 1-0 BIG EAST) has won three of its last four including a 5-2 win over Marquette last Saturday. The Musketeers are led by Lauren Ghidotti, who is 9-3 in singles play including an unblemished 4-0 mark at the No. 1 flight.

Strike has been a steady fixture at the top singles flight for the Pirates, and Fajnorova is 7-0 at the No. 2 singles spot. Meanwhile, Kangwa and Kim have won six of their last eight when partnered during doubles play.