UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's tennis team is set to begin its final weekend of the regular season. On Friday, Utica will host Oswego State after the match was postponed last week. The team will then hit the road to face Russell Sage College on Saturday and Hartwick College on Sunday to conclude the regular season.
 
Follow Along: Hartwick will be providing live video of Sunday's match through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hartwick/.
 
Last Time Out: Last Friday, the Pioneers fell to Houghton 6-3. Selma Dizdarevic (Utica, NY/Proctor ) and Ellen Lyga (New Hartford, NY/Notre Dame) secured an 8-6 doubles win, yet the Highlanders would win the other two doubles matches. Lyga and Dizdarevic both won their singles matches in quick fashion and continued their successful year as teammates and individuals. Houghton would win the rest of the singles matches and the match 6-3.
 
Season So Far: Emily DePasquale (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent), Ellen Lyga (New Hartford, NY/Notre Dame), and Selma Dizdarevic (Utica, NY/Proctor ) have done very well this season. Paetra Heeran was having a strong season through battling injury. DePasquale is 2-1 this season in singles while both Dizdarevic and Lyga are 3-3. The team has been most successful in doubles as Heeren and Lyga were 3-1 before Heeren's injury. DePasquale is 1-1 with Jackie Roberts (Herkimer, NY/Notre Dame) as her teammate. Lyga and Dizdarevic are 1-1 so far as a pair and the Pioneers look to keep their success in doubles rolling.
 
Looking at Oswego State: The Lakers are currently 1-8 overall and 1-5 in SUNYAC competition. Oswego was blanked in its last match as Cortland beat them 9-0, and are eager to put that behind them and square off with the Pioneers on Friday. Rafaela Dimitrakopoulou leads the Lakers in singles sporting a 2-1 singles record and Angelina Llanos is 1-0 in singles. For doubles, teammates Angelina Llanos and Alyx Sperling are 1-0 which is the best on the team.
 
Previewing Russell Sage: The Gators are 3-5 overall this season and 1-3 in Empire play. Sage will be playing Nazareth at a neutral site on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. before clashing with the Pioneers on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Gators are led by Emma Nuzzi and Tirzah Spivey who sport an incredible 5-1 record this season as a pair. In singles play, Gwen Eichen is 6-2 and Tirzah Spivey is 7-1 in singles and an amazing 4-0 in conference play.
 
Scouting Hartwick: Hartwick is a stunning 9-0 this season including 5-0 in Empire 8 play. The Hawks will travel to face Alfred on Saturday at 1 p.m. before clashing with the Pioneers on Sunday at 1 p.m. Hartwick is 44-5 in matches overall this season and Lily Vanuga, Jade Killikelly, and Ryann Ashby are all sporting undefeated records. The team has been fantastic and only dropped two matches in doubles this season and looks to keep their momentum going into the Empire 8 playoffs.

Up Next: After this weekend, the Pioneers will look to secure a spot into the Empire 8 Conference Tournament which will run from October 14-15 at the top-seed.