Tennis Heads to Sunshine State for Pair of C-USA Matches

MATCH TEN
Marshall (2-7, 0-1 C-USA) at FIU (3-4, 1-0 C-USA)
Friday, Mar. 1 | Noon
FIU Tennis Courts | Miami, Fla.
Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

MATCH ELEVEN
Marshall (2-7, 0-1 C-USA) vs. North Texas (7-4, 2-0 C-USA)
Saturday, Mar. 2 | 2:30 p.m.
FIU Tennis Courts | Miami, Fla.
Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – After a nearly two-week break without matches, the Marshall women's tennis team returns to action Friday and Saturday with a pair of Conference USA matches. The Thundering Herd will play the at the FIU Panthers Friday at noon before facing the North Texas Mean Green in a neutral-site match Saturday at 2:30 p.m., with both matches taking place at the FIU Tennis Courts.

HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall is on the road for just the third time this season, having played seven of its first nine matches inside the Huntington Tennis Club. This weekend will also mark the first two road conference matches of the season for the Herd.

Marshall will play four C-USA matches during the month of March. In addition to this weekend's matches against FIU and North Texas, the Thundering Herd will play host to both Middle Tennessee and UAB during the month.

Anna Smith is the Thundering Herd's leading singles player with a 5-4 record. Marshall as a team has 13 singles wins at the top three singles spots, while producing just six wins at the bottom three positions.

Head coach John Mercer currently sits just two wins shy of becoming the first Thundering Herd head coach to reach 250 career wins. Mercer is the program's all-time wins leader with 248.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: FIU
FIU has won its last two matches to improve its 2019 record to 3-4.

The Panthers are the defending Conference USA champions and have racked up a record of 55-8 over the last three seasons.

FIU also has a Conference USA win this season, defeating nearby rival Florida Atlantic by a score of 5-2.

FIU lost more than half of its 2018 team, including the surprising transfer of all-conference performer Ulyana Grib to Lynn University. The Panthers have five new faces for the 2019 season, including four freshmen.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: NORTH TEXAS
North Texas enters the weekend with a 7-4 record. The Mean Green also sports a 2-0 record in Conference USA matches.

The Mean Green, unlike the Marshall, has no newcomers this season. North Texas returns seven players from last year.

UNT already has C-USA wins over UTEP and WKU, along with a win over Pac-12 opponent Arizona.

SERIES HISTORY
Marshall has struggled in the all-time series against FIU, as the Panthers have won four of the five contests between the schools. FIU has won each of the last four matches between the teams, including a 4-0 win during the 2018 season.

Marshall has played against North Texas just once, a 4-0 win for the Mean Green last season. The teams have never played a match at a neutral site, nor have they played in Huntington. Last year's match was played in Denton.

UP NEXT
The Thundering Herd remains on the road for a match against in-state rival West Virginia on Mar. 10.

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!

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Tennis Heads to Sunshine State for Pair of C-USA Matches

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Players Mentioned

Anna Smith

Marshall University Athletics