Marshall University Athletics
Herd Tennis Opens Conference USA Tournament Against Florida Atlantic
4/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall women's tennis team, seeded 13th after the regular season, begins play in the Conference USA Championship Thursday when it takes on fourth seed Florida Atlantic at noon in Norfolk, Virginia. Old Dominion is the host institution for the championship.
A LOOK BACK: WINTHROP
Big South Conference regular season champion Winthrop won all seven points in a blanking of the Herd over the weekend. Marshall's No. 2 doubles pair of Anna Smith and Marija Bogicevic won their doubles match, but Winthrop won the two remaining doubles matches and all six singles matches in straight sets.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
Senior Stephanie Smith was named to the six-player InTouch Credit Union All-Academic Team Tuesday afternoon. Smith, the Herd's leader in singles wins (11), has a 3.70 GPA as a sports management and marketing major and will graduate in the summer.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Prior to losing her last two matches, Anna Smith had an eight-match win streak and had won nine of her previous 10 matches. Smith is second on the Herd with 10 singles wins and is tied for the team lead with 10 doubles wins. Smith is the first Herd freshman to record double-digit singles and doubles wins in her first dual match season since current senior Maddie Silver accomplished the feat in 2015.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Florida Atlantic is 10-7 this season with a 2-2 record against Conference USA opponents. The Owls are led by Aliona Bolsova, who has a 15-0 record at the No. 1 spot and is ranked second nationally. Natalia Boltinskaya has a 12-4 record at the No. 2 spot for Florida Atlantic. Bolsova and Jemi Aguilar are the top doubles pair for the Owls with a 7-2 record at the No. 1 spot.
FAMILIAR FOE
Florida Atlantic and Marshall have met in the first round of the Conference USA Championship once since the Owls joined Conference USA prior to the 2013-14 season. Marshall defeated Florida Atlantic in 2015, 4-0.
HERD IN THE C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
Marshall has never won a Conference USA women's tennis title, but the Herd has reached the final four times since joining the conference in 2005 (2007, 2008, 2010 and 2015). The Herd has reached at least the quarterfinals of the tournament in every year it has been a part of C-USA, going 4-0 in first round matches.
Players Mentioned
