Utica, NY – The Utica College women's tennis team will be hosting two Empire 8 contests over the weekend. The Pioneers will play Alfred on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then face-off against Nazareth at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell to Oswego State in their last contest, 5-4.
Julianne Pieros (Alpha, NJ/Phillipsburg),
Lulu Zhang (Wenzhou, China/Newcomers), and
Shannon Fillmore (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) all earned wins in singles competition. However, it wasn't enough as UC's record dropped to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in E8 play.
Zhang Stays Hot: After winning her singles and doubles matches against Oswego State,
Lulu Zhang (Wenzhou, China/Newcomers) owns an overall record of 6-0 individually so far this season. Zhang has won 11 of her last 12 singles matches and has a seven-match win streak in singles competition, going back to last year. It will be exciting to see if she can continue to extend her streak through the weekend.
Alfred Matchup: The Saxons currently own a record of 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the Empire 8. In the team's last competition, Fredonia swept Alfred with a final match score of 9-0. Last season the Pioneers lost to Alfred on the road, 8-1. UC will be looking for its first win against Alfred in over ten years.
Nazareth Matchup: The Golden Flyers are sitting at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the E8 to start off the season. Nazareth most recently defeated conference opponent Houghton, 6-3. In last year's meeting between Utica and Nazareth, the Golden Flyers came away with the 8-1 victory. The Pioneers have not defeated Nazareth in the past ten years.
Looking Ahead: After a loaded weekend of Empire 8 competition, UC will be on the road September 20
th to battle SUNY Delhi. The match is set to begin at 4 p.m.
