Syracuse University
Eastern Michigan
Tennis Faces First Ranked Foe in Road Swing
2/4/2010 3:28:37 PM | Tennis
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange tennis team (3-0) looks to extend its unbeaten streak as it travels to Michigan to face off against a trio of foes. Syracuse visits Eastern Michigan on Friday, February 5 at 1 p.m. and meets Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m. They conclude their road trip on Sunday with a 10 a.m. match at Michigan State.
Orange on the Net
Visit SUAthletics.com throughout the weekend for complete coverage of Syracuse's Michigan road swing.
A Strong Start
The Orange opened its spring season in dominating fashion, sweeping Albany and Rutgers and dropping only a single match against St. John's.
Syracuse defeated Albany 7-0, with strong performances from the entire squad. Freshman CC Sardinha made her home debut, sweeping her singles match in straight sets, 6-0, in the No. 6 slot. Sophomore Emily Harman continued to lead SU as the top singles player, while pairing with Chelsea Jones at No. 1 doubles.
Sophomore Alessondra Parra went 3-0 at No. 2 singles while Christina Tan was 2-1 in the No. 3 singles slot. Senior transfer Eleanor Peters made her Orange debut, going 3-0 at No. 4 singles while teaming with junior Simone Kalhorn to compile a 3-0 record a third doubles.
Kalhorn anchored the lineup at No. 5 singles, going 3-0 to extend her singles win streak to 25 matches, dating back to last spring.
Scouting the Eastern Michigan Eagles
Eastern Michigan has struggled early in the spring season, entering Friday's match with a 1-4 overall record. The Eagles opened their season with a win at Detroit, but faltered against Purdue, Iowa, and Marshall.
In their most recent match, the Eagles earned the doubles point against Marshall, but were swept in singles play for a 6-1 loss. Celine Donnet is the leading singles player for Eastern Michigan, while the squad boasts a trio of strong doubles pairings, one of which successfully defeated Marshall's 14th ranked doubles tandem.
Scouting the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines
Saturday shapes up to be a battle of the unbeaten's as Syracuse visits Michigan, which holds a 3-0 record on the season. The 19th ranked Wolverines have impressed early on this season, upsetting No. 16 South Carolina and No. 18 Arkansas.
Michigan's doulbes tandem of Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno have been especially impressive, coming back for a deficit to earn a victory against No. 18 Arkansas. Mimi Nguyen and Michelle Sulahian are also a threat in doubles play, having won seven consecutive matches as a pair.
Scouting the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State (2-3) is returning home from two matches in Florida to play the Orange. The Spartans are 2-1 on their home court, with victories over Cleveland State and Detroit. They were unsuccessful in their past two games against UCF and Florida Atlantic. Michaela Silesova was the only victor for MSU in singles play.
