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No. 22 DePaul Plays at No. 68 BYU and No. 71 Utah this Weekend
CHICAGO - The No. 22 DePaul women's tennis team heads out west for duals at No. 68 BYU on Feb. 27 and No. 71 Utah on Feb. 28. The Blue Demons (8-1) enter the weekend on a six-match winning streak and are playing their fifth and sixth ranked squads of the season. "This weekend is another great challenge for our team," head coach Mark Ardizzone said of his impending road trip. "We have put ourselves in a lot challenging situations by playing high-caliber teams and look forward to another great weekend of tennis." The Blue Demons have moved up in the Campbell's/ITA rankings all season with their grueling schedule of ranked opponents on the road and at neutral courts. DePaul started the dual portion of its scheduled ranked No. 45 and at then-No. 6 Notre Dame. The Blue Demons fought the Irish but lost and have since registered six consecutive wins -- three of which were to ranked opponents. With big wins in the last three weeks DePaul has climbed 23 spots to No. 22 in the ITA rankings. DePaul is led by the doubles pair of Anna Redecsi and Selma Salkovic, who is ranked No. 9 in the doubles poll. The pair has faced six ranked tandems this season and boasts a 4-2 record against pairs ranked in the top 40. Redecsi and Salkovic begin the weekend with an 18-4 record and have won their last five matches. BYU enters the weekend for a 3-4 mark and ousted then-No. 65 Denver, 6-1 last week. Prior to DePaul's match on Saturday, the Cougars host No. 40 Arizona on Friday. BYU is led McCall Jones, who is ranked No. 77 in the ITA singles rankings, while the duo of Megan Price and Jones sit at No. 27 in the doubles poll. Following Saturday's dual, the Blue Demons head to Utah. The Utes (3-5) have not played a match since their 7-0 win over Denver on Feb. 14 and host Arizona on Saturday prior to the Blue Demons arriving in town. Missy Harris, who plays in the number four and number five position, leads Utah with a 12-5 record while the doubles pair of Andrea Maughan and Erin Monson is 10-10 on the season. Following the Blue Demons' weekend out west, DePaul heads to Iowa for a March 7 showdown with the Hawkeyes.
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