Tennis Readies for Pair of Weekend Conference USA Matches

MATCH THIRTEEN
Middle Tennessee (5-8, 0-1 C-USA) at Marshall (2-10, 0-3 C-USA)
Friday, Mar. 15 | 4 p.m.
Brian David Fox Tennis Center | Huntington, W.Va.
Live Scoring/Statistics | Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

MATCH FOURTEEN
UAB (5-9, 1-0 C-USA) at Marshall (2-10, 0-3 C-USA)
Saturday, Mar. 16 | 1 p.m.
Huntington Tennis Club | Huntington, W.Va.
Live Scoring/Statistics | Twitter (@Herd_Tennis) | Match Notes

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall women's tennis team returns home for the first time in nearly a month to play a pair of weekend conference matches. The Herd will play Middle Tennessee Friday at 4 p.m. and UAB Saturday at 1 p.m., with Friday's match being outdoors and Saturday's match being indoors.

HAVE YOU HERD?
Marshall is seeking its first Conference USA win of the season and is looking to avenge last year's 4-3 loss to Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro.

Head coach John Mercer sits two wins shy of becoming the first in program history to reach 250 career wins. Mercer is the program's all-time wins leader with 248 and is one of two coaches to have a win percentage over .600 (min. five seasons).

Anna Smith improved to 2-0 in singles matches against West Virginia with a three-set win over Christina Jordan at the top spot.

Liz Stefancic extended her singles win streak to two with a straight-sets win over WVU's Giovanna Caputo at the No. 5 position.

Stefancic also teamed with fellow freshman Madi Ballow to take a doubles match at the No. 2 position.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Middle Tennessee enters the weekend with a 5-8 record overall and an 0-1 record in Conference USA.

The Blue Raiders lost their lone C-USA match of the season to Old Dominion.

Luisa Zirilli leads the Blue Raiders with an 8-3 singles record, while Zani Barnard and Constanza Magazzini have a 5-1 doubles record for MTSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: UAB
UAB enters the weekend with a 5-9 record overall and a 1-0 record in Conference USA.

The Blazers defeated Western Kentucky earlier in the season, 4-0.

Alex Shchipakina leads UAB with an 8-4 record, while Jana Hecking is 5-3 in singles play. Shchipakina and Marlene Herrmann are 8-4 as a doubles pair.

SERIES HISTORY
Marshall has a 10-1 lead in the all-time series against Middle Tennesseee. Marshall and UAB have never met prior to Saturday.

UP NEXT
The Herd begins a five-match road swing with matches at New Orleans (Mar. 22) and Tulane (Mar. 23).

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 Readies for Pair of Weekend Conference USA Matches

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Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Anna Smith

Liz Stefancic

Marshall University Athletics