Women's Tennis Set for Spring Opener at Bass-Rudd

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville women's tennis team is set to host the University of Tennessee-Martin and Murray State on Saturday in the home opener to start off the dual match season.

The Cardinals are set to face UT-Martin first at 11 a.m. and then at 4 p.m. take on Murray State.

"We are excited about the opener. Everyone is excited to start the season," said UofL head coach Mark Beckham. "UT Martin has some girls that have done well at Regionals in the past. We are ready and it should be a great match."

Louisville looks to improve on last season's record by returning all but one of the 2015-16 roster. In the fall, Abbie Pahz won both the Missouri Invitational, and the Purdue invitational, and hopes to continue that success into the spring season. Junior,  Pahz, led the Cardinals in her sophomore season with her singles record of 16-7. Against Murray State last season, Pahz defeated Erin Patton 6-0, 6-4 to take a singles victory.

"We have some new faces on our roster who will infuse new talent into our ranks. Mariana Humberg is a transfer from Winthrop and comes to us with a lot of experience. She will help us in singles and doubles. We have freshman Tiffany Huber, who will play a lot. She will be a good one for us. Another freshman, Anna Collins will be helping with the team as well. New faces along with some returning veterans, which will make for a nice mix," said Beckham.

This is the second season in a row that the Cardinals host Murray State, besting them last year with an overall score of 6-1. For Murray State, the Racers are only returning Amina Hadzic, Jeanne Masson, and Alina Schibol from last year's roster. Hadzic is the only returner to have defeated the Cardinals last season.

UT-Martin begins the season with a veteran roster. Returning all but one from a year ago, they have added more experience, to their team, which is aided by transfer Olha Burak from Central Oklahoma. Dennis Taylor is a very experienced head coach with 30 years coaching at UT-Martin.Last season, Taylor became just the seventh active NCAA Division-I head tennis coach to reach 500 career victories.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Collins

Tiffany Huber

Mariana Humberg

Abbie Pahz

University of Louisville Athletics