Jan. 29, 2008

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The University of Memphis women's tennis team (1-0) will open its 2008 road schedule Wednesday at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2-1), at 11 a.m.

Memphis is coming off a 5-2 win over UT Martin on Sunday, and the UALR road match will be the only match of the next four that the Lady Tigers will play away from the Bluff City. The Lady Tigers will host Southern Illinois next Friday, Samford next Saturday and Rhodes College Sunday.

The Lady Tigers have some experience against UALR from earlier this season, as the Trojans competed in the fall-ending Lady Tiger Classic back in November. The Trojans bring a young roster in to the Wednesday meeting, with just one senior, Laetitia Bourgeon, who won the Division I singles title at the Memphis fall tournament. Bourgeon is 2-1 at No. 1 singles so far this season, having won two straight matches after losing her season-opening match at C-USA foe Tulsa to begin the spring.

Sophomore Patricia Cortes has played three matches at No. 2 singles for UALR, but has only gotten to finish one match, winning 6-1, 6-1, in a match against Central Arkansas. Freshman Anne Weijenborg has played the No. 3 singles spot in the last two matches, while junior Marta Gomez-Jordana opened the spring playing at the No. 3 spot before moving to the No. 4 spot in the last two matches. Freshman Rebecca Van Den Houte played that first match at No. 4, but has played No. 5 singles in the last two matches. Freshman Nathalia Garay is 2-1 at the No. 6 singles spot, carrying a two-match winning streak in to Wednesday's match-up, and was the Division 4 singles title at the Memphis fall tournament in November.

With just six players on the roster, UALR was short-handed in the season-opener at Tulsa, but has fielded three doubles teams in each of the last two matches. The duo of Bourgeon and Jordana is 3-0 at No. 1, while the team of Van Den Houte and Weijenborg is 2-0 at No. 2. Cortes and Garay missed the first match of the year in doubles, but have won No. 3 doubles matches in the next two matches.

Memphis also sports a young roster heading in to the Wednesday line-up, with no senior on the roster for Lee Taylor Walker's first season. Sophomore Amanda Brown provided the game-winning point with a straight set win at No. 1 singles on Sunday against UT Martin. Brown also teamed with junior Ekin Zafir at the No. 1 doubles slot, reuniting a tandem that won the Memphis Division II doubles titles in the fall over the No. 3 doubles team from UALR.

Junior Kristin Chamberlain fell at the No. 2 singles spot against UT Martin, but teamed with Lindsey Wiseman to win the No. 3 doubles match, helping Memphis bounce back from the loss at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Marjorie Ondeck helped secure that doubles point win for Memphis by teaming with newcomer Ashley Murdock for a deciding 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles, then helped Memphis score the final point of the match by coming back from a second set loss to win her super tiebreak at No. 3 singles, 10-8. Ondeck has a lot of big match experience for the Lady Tigers after playing the majority of last season at No. 1 singles and doubles.

Ashley Murdock, a transfer from LSU in January, shook out the jitters in her first career Lady Tiger singles match, winning at No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles, while freshman Lindsey Wiseman battled at No. 5 singles, losing a first set tiebreak, then falling 6-3 after helping Memphis get its first point of the match with the doubles win at No. 3. Sophomore Dara Toulch used a straight set win at No. 6 singles to start her spring off on a winning foot and to help Memphis open its season with a 1-0 mark for the first time since 2005-06.

UALR has traditionally been one of the toughest matches on the Lady Tigers' spring slate. Memphis is 1-9 against the Trojans in the last 10 matches and last defeated UALR in Little Rock, 4-3, on Feb. 6, 2003. The two teams meet home-and-home each season, and the Trojans have a nine-match winning streak against the Lady Tigers heading in to Wednesday's match.