SU Opens 2013 Season on the Road at USF

MATCH-01: NO. 72 SYRACUSE ORANGE vs. NO. 43 USF BULLS
Villanova: Saturday, Jan. 12 @ 9:30 a.m. \| USF Varsity Tennis Courts
GAME COVERAGE:	Twitter: @Cuse
TENNIS QUICK LINKS	Match Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Statstics
OTHER LINKS	USF: Roster \| Statistics \| Schedule

TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 72 Syracuse University tennis team opens the 2013 campaign on Saturday morning against No. 43 South Florida at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts in Tampa, Fla.

Head coach Luke Jensen will lead the Orange as arguably the most successful coach in program history, as he holds the highest winning percentage of any tennis coach in SU history after the team went 14-6 overall and 6-2 in the BIG EAST last year. In his seven years at the helm of the program, he has recorded a 91-46 overall record, tallying a .555 winning percentage.

Juniors Aleah Marrow and Maddie Kobelt will lead the way against the Bulls, as there are no seniors returning the roster this season. Both Marrow and Kobelt have combined for more than 100 career wins. Sophomores Brenna Bachini, Jimena Wu, Amanda Rodgers and Komal Safdar will all return this season, looking to follow up on successful freshman campaigns.

FOUR JOIN THE SU SQUAD:
Jensen has added four freshmen to the lineup in 2013 to fill the voids left from graduating seniors Emily Harman and Alessondra Parra. Brittany Lashway is a five-star recruit, hailing from Bradenton, Fla., where she was the December 2009 player of the week by TheObserver.com. Alex Aiello is also a five-star recruit who is joining the SU roster after being ranked the No. 12 recruit in Florida.

Emily Weisberg was ranked a four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, after being named MVP in 2008 and selected to the Marmont League First-Team in 2010. Sophia Dzulynsky is a five-star recruit, who has competed in the Junior Orange Bowl at the 46th International Tennis Championship in Florida.

SCOUTING THE BULLS:
USF is opening 2013 with a No. 43 ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), which is six spots up from where they concluded the 2012 season at No. 51.This year, the Bulls will enter the matchup led by senior Katie Vasenina, who is ranked No. 35 in singles. Vasenina is returning after making a solid run to the NCAA Championship, where she went 8-5, picking up wins against five ranked opponents along the way. Junior Loreto Alonso Martinez will also return to the court in 2013, ranked No. 75 in singles and looking to improve on a 10-2 record last season.

A WIN FOR THE RECORD BOOK:
If the Orange defeats the Bulls on Saturday, it will be the first victory against USF in program history. South Florida has triumphed in the last seven meetings between the two opponents, after defeating SU in the season opener for both teams last year on January14th at USF.

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