Tennis Opens Home Slate with Saturday Doubleheader

MATCH TWO
Wright State (0-0, 0-0 Horizon League) at Marshall (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Saturday, Jan. 26 | 1 p.m.
Huntington Tennis Club | Huntington, W.Va.
Scoring/Statistics | Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

MATCH THREE
West Virginia State (3-0, 0-0 Mountain East) at Marshall (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
Saturday, Jan. 26 | 5 p.m.
Huntington Tennis Club | Huntington, W.Va.
Scoring/Statistics | Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After opening its season on the road for the third time in the last four years, the Marshall women's tennis team plays its first home matches Saturday with a doubleheader against Wright State and West Virginia State. First serve in the opening match against the Raiders is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the Thundering Herd's in-state matchup with the Yellow jackets tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m.

HAVE YOU HERD?
Victoria Walter was named Conference USA Women's Tennis Player of the Week (Jan. 23) following her performance against (RV) Kentucky. Walter, in her first collegiate dual match, defeated the Wildcats' Lesedi Jacobs in a super tiebreak, rallying to win the match after dropping the second set, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8).

Marshall is familiar with each of its opponents this weekend, having seen Wright State during the fall season at the Liberty Invitational and West Virginia State each of the last two dual match seasons.

Marshall is a combined 6-0 against teams from the Horizon League, including a 4-0 record against Wright State.

The Thundering Herd also sports an 8-0 record against teams from the Mountain East Conference, including a 3-0 record against West Virginia State.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: WRIGHT STATE
Wright State opens its 2019 season Friday night when it plays host to Chicago State at 7 p.m. The Raiders will then make the trip to Huntington for a quick turnaround against the Thundering Herd.

Head coach Eric Burns is now in his fourth season at Wright State after previously leading the now-defunct squad at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Wright State returns seven players from its 2017-18 team that won 20 matches and made the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament, including all-conference performer Haily Morgan.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: WEST VIRGINIA STATE
West Virginia State is the defending Mountain East Conference champion. The Yellow Jackets reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division II Tournament before falling to Central Oklahoma. The run was the longest by a former or current HBCU in an NCAA women's tennis tournament.

Head coach John Simms has been a model of consistency for WVSU, turning around the once-dormant program into a perennial D-II power. Simms has been named the Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year for each of the last five seasons.

WVSU returns seven players from its 2017-18 roster that faced the Thundering Herd in Huntington, including all-conference standouts Laura Isbey and Kierstin Hensley.

The Yellow Jackets have won six consecutive conference championships and have made 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

SERIES HISTORY
Marshall vs. Wright State: Marshall has a 4-0 lead in the all-time series, including a 7-0 win in the last matchup between the schools in 2006.

Marshall vs. West Virginia State: Marshall has a 3-0 lead in the all-time series, including a 7-0 win in the last matchup between the schools in 2018.

UP NEXT
The Thundering Herd continues its five-match homestand against regional foe James Madison at 4 p.m. on Feb. 1.

FOLLOW THE #HERDFAMILY
For the latest information on Marshall women's tennis, follow on Twitter at @Herd_Tennis, on Facebook at Herd Tennis and online at HerdZone.com.

To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!

---HerdZone.com---

Tennis Opens Home Slate with Saturday Doubleheader

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Walter

Marshall University Athletics