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Women's Tennis Celebrates Girls and Women in Sports Day, Hosts SMU
Feb. 3, 2012
CHICAGO - The DePaul women's tennis team puts its four-match winning streak on the line when No. 36 SMU comes to town for a duel on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Lakeshore Sport and Fitness. The Blue Demons and Mustangs hit the courts at 6 p.m., while more than 50 young tennis enthusiasts will join DePaul on the courts prior to the match's first serve. Saturday's match brings SMU for a nonconference duel. However, beginning in 2013-14 the Mustangs will become a BIG EAST Conference foe when SMU joins the league in all sports. "We are excited to welcome in a great SMU team to our club this weekend," head coach Mark Ardizzone said. "It is always fun to play a team that reached last year's Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. "SMU is extremely talented and loaded with experienced players. Our team is so excited for the opportunity and looking forward to the challenge." The Blue Demons boast a combined 69-46 singles record while Patricia Fargas, Kelsey Lawson, Gia McKnight, Rebeca Mitrea and Carolin Neumann have all recorded double-digit singles victories. Mitrea and Fargas pace the squad with 14 wins apiece, while Mitrea has won her last nine matches and has a team-best 14-2 mark. SMU, who plays at No. 63 Illinois on Friday, is led by Marta Lesniak. Lesniak just won the USTA/ITA National Indoor Collegiate Singles Championship as the No. 10 seed in the tournament. Lesniak boasts a 12-3 record and is 7-3 in her last 10 matches.
In celebration of the 26th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the Blue Demons women will host a short prematch clinic for participants from Girls in the Game. "We are looking welcome more than 50 kids from the Girls in the Game program to watch the match. I hope we can inspire some girls to become tennis players someday and know they can get a chance to compete in college athletics. It should be a fun night," Ardizzone added. Following Saturday's match, the Blue Demon head to Madison, Wis., for matches with the Badgers on Feb. 10 and a neutral court duel with N.C. State on Feb. 11. |
