Terps Travel to Boston for Two
1/31/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 31, 2013
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's tennis team (2-0, 0-0 ACC) will try to continue its winning ways in Boston with two dual matches set for this weekend. The Terrapins will take on Boston College, their first ACC contest of the season, Friday at 5 p.m. The following day, they will face-off with No. 74 Harvard, with play scheduled to begin at noon.
Last Time Out
Maryland cruised against UMBC, 7-0, for its second win of the season. The Terrapins secured an easy doubles decision with the freshmen teams of Sarah Gealer and Gabriela Srodowski, and Olga and Nataliya Bredikhina both picking up victories.
Singles also went according to plan, with all six Terrapins securing victories. Olga Bredikhina created the only drama of the dual match, her tense 6-2, 4-6 (11-9) victory finishing a clean sweep of the Retrievers.
Spotless
For the second time in the past three seasons, Maryland has started the season with two straight 7-0 victories. In 2011, the Terrapins defeated Navy and Syracuse by that score line, and eventually made the NCAA Tournament.
Fresh Faces
This year's revamped Maryland squad features five new faces under new head coach Daria Panova. While Gealer attained some experience during the fall season, the other four newcomers played their first college matches against Howard.
The freshmen have combined to lose one set so far this spring season. Srodowski and Nataliya Bredikhina have anchored the Terrapins from the fifth and sixth singles positions. Both freshmen are 2-0, and Srodowski has been particularly impressive, only losing five games in two singles matches.
Veteran Presence
While the freshmen do much of the heavy lifting for the Terrapins, the team is led at the top by senior Vroni Van Berlo. A native of the Netherlands, Van Berlo has won both her matches as No.1 in singles this season. In addition, Van Berlo has teamed with freshman Olga Gaistruk to form Maryland's No.1 doubles partnership. The pair is unbeaten.
Series History
Since 1998, the Terrapins are 2-1 against Harvard. The last meeting came in 2012 and resulted in a 4-3 victory for Maryland.
In that same time period, Maryland has accrued a 2-5 record against the Eagles; last season's meeting a 4-3 victory for BC.
Scouting the Eagles
| 2013 Boston College Eagles: (2-0, 0-0 ACC) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Boston College enters Friday's contest after defeating Syracuse, 4-3, last Friday. The Eagles went 3-3 in singles and 2-2 in doubles against the Orange. In singles, No. 116 Julia Wacnik leads BC from the No. 1 position. The sophomore compiled a record 7-2 record during the fall season, and is 1-1 so far in the spring.
The Eagles also boast the No. 39 doubles team of Alex Kelleher and Olga Khmylev, who partnered to great effect last season. However, in Boston College's first two dual matches, Kelleher has partnered with Wacnik and Khmylev has combined with Katya Vasilyev. Both teams are 2-0.
Scouting the Crimson
| 2013 Harvard Crimson: (1-2, 0-0 Ivy League) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
No. 74 Harvard comes into Saturday's match fresh off a 5-2 defeat at the hands of No. 60 Kansas State last Sunday. The Crimson's other defeat also came against a ranked team; No. 53 William & Mary. Harvard's singles lineup is anchored by seniors Kristin Norton and Hideko Tachibana, who both have held the No. 1 position for the Crimson this season. Tachibana, a First Team All-Ivy League selection last season, posted a 6-2 record in the fall season. Norton, who has also been a part of Harvard's No.1 doubles team the past two dual matches, is 1-2 so far in the fall.
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