Cardinals Open the Season at Home

Friday, January 20

LOUISVILLE, KY

10:00 a.m.

University of Louisville

Northern Illinois

January 19, 2023 | Women's Tennis

UofL hosts NIU and Bellarmine on Saturday

By: Nancy Worley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville women's tennis team will open its spring season Friday, Jan. 20 as the Cardinals host Northern Illinois at 10 a.m. and Bellarmine at 5 p.m. at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

This weekend marks the Cardinals first match since the Mississippi State Invitational in October. UofL is led by senior Andrea Di Palma. Di Palma held the No. 1 spot at singles last year for the Cards and was a key piece to the No. 1 doubles team as she and partner Tatiana Simova won eight straight matches to open the 2022 season. Simova posted a team-best 12 wins in singles last year competing at No. 4, 5, and 6. Rhea Verma, the 2022 No. 2 singles player, returns as a graduate student for the Cardinals. In 2021, Verma recorded a team-high 14 wins in singles, including ending the season with a five-match win streak.

Northern Illinois will open the spring season after competing at the NIU Huskie Winter Invitational. The Huskies went 5-3 in both singles and doubles on the opening day with Reagan Welch's 2-6, 6-2 (10-7) win over Iowa's Anya Lamoreaux highlighting NIU's singles wins. NIU went 3-4 in singles on Sunday and closed out the tournament on Monday by winning seven of 10 matches. The Huskies were led by Freshman Isabella Righi and Junior Diana Lukyanova.

Bellarmine will open their spring season against NIU before competing against the Cardinals. The Knights lineup consists of four freshmen, two sophomores, and one senior. Bellarmine's lone senior is Channing Varnum, who was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and picked up three doubles victories this past season. BU's other returner is Tikhonko, who was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team last season.