Jan. 31, 2013

Morehead State at #50 Memphis The University Club  Friday 6 p.m.

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Memphis vs Morehead State Program

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's tennis team (2-2) returns to The Bluff City for the first time in two weeks as the Lady Tigers take on Morehead State (0-3) at The University Club on Friday at 6 p.m.

Memphis is coming off two defeats at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they fell 4-0 to No. 9 Alabama and 4-3 to No. 24 Tulsa. Freshman Caroline Wegner was the lone Lady Tiger to go undefeated during the weekend with two victories in doubles play with partner Stefanie Mikesz while also picking up a win at No. 5 singles to help Memphis stay in contention with Tulsa. Freshman Skylar Kuykendall also won in singles against Tulsa with a win at No. 6 to give Memphis a 2-0 lead. Graduate student Tiffany Welcher and sophomore Alyssa Hibberd were victorious in doubles play against the Golden Hurricane as the duo helped Memphis clinch the doubles point.

The match on Friday will be the first of four at The University Club this season for the Lady Tigers. In two weeks, Memphis will host Kansas State (Feb. 15) and Columbia (Feb. 17) before a battle with Virginia (Feb. 24) the following week. The University Club is located at 1346 Central Avenue with the indoor tennis courts located at the back left of the facility.

Scouting the Opponent
	Morehead State comes into Friday's match with an 0-3 record after opening the season with a 5-2 loss to Marshall followed by 7-0 defeats to Kentucky and Louisville. The Eagles have seven freshmen on their roster along with two seniors. MSU finished 11-10 in 2011-12 and a 4-5 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Memphis holds an 88-43 all-time record against OVC opponents.

This is Our House
The Lady Tigers have dominated opponents that have come to play in Memphis over the past few seasons. Memphis owns a 21-match winning streak that spans back to Apr. 9, 2009 when the Lady Tigers fell to Arkansas State, 6-1, in their last home match of the season. Under head coach Lee Taylor Walker, the Lady Tigers are 33-6 at home.

ITA Rankings
Memphis received its highest ranking in school history Wednesday as ITA placed the Lady Tigers at No. 50. The program's previous high was No. 51, which they achieved last March.

"It's always rewarding for everyone involved with our past, present and future teams to reach higher rankings than before," Walker said. "However, I think our players and everyone involved with our program realize that 50 is far away from what this team can and will achieve this year. It's important for us to continue working hard, enjoying the process of doing the uncomfortable in our preparation and realizing that sometimes success comes when you least expect it."

Memphis has two doubles teams ranked in the top-35 in the nation with the duo of Courtney Collins and Kelly Gray earning a program-best No. 18 at the beginning of the season after a 4-0 fall season record. Stefanie Mikesz and Caroline Wegner came in at No. 35 in early January after a 4-1 fall mark.

Upcoming Matches
Memphis hosts three ranked opponents during the month of February in No. 60 Kansas State (Feb. 15), No. 70 Columbia (Feb. 17) and No. 12 Virginia (Feb. 24). Admission is FREE to all three matches.

Record Watch
Collins and Gray already rank in the top-10 in career wins at Memphis as Collins is fifth in singles wins and Gray is tied for fifth in the doubles column. Collins has now posted 82 wins and needs 16 more to break Stacy Seamans' (1979-83) record of 97. Gray has notched 71 wins during her career and needs 22 more to break Lindemann's (1999-03) school record of 92 wins.