Terps Set to Face Old Dominion, Delaware

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland women's tennis team (1-3) will continue its 2019 season this weekend, traveling to Old Dominion and Delaware for a pair of non-conference contests. The Terps will battle Old Dominion on Friday before making the trip to Delaware for a Sunday matinee against the Blue Hens.

LAST TIME OUT

Zoe Kulkarni and Amber Policare earned their second doubles victory of the season, but Maryland ultimately fell to defending A-10 Champion, VCU.

A pair of singles matches were in their third sets when they went unfinished. After dropping her first set, senior Millie Stretton responded to win her second, 7-5, to force a third that was tied at two when the match ended. At third singles, Katsiaryna Yemelyanenka won a tight first set, 7-5, before dropping a second and having her match end unfinished.

SCOUTING THE MONARCHS

Old Dominion's latest contest featured an upset victory over 24th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville. After dropping the doubles point, the Monarchs rallied to capture four singles wins and escape with the upset.

ODU is now 7-1 on the year, with its lone loss coming against fourth-ranked Duke in the ITA Kick-off Weekend. The Monarchs will be led by Nataliia Vlasova, who won Conference USA Athlete of the Week earlier this season. The senior from Ukraine picked up a straight-set win at second singles in the upset victory over Tennessee.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS

Delaware will meet Richmond on Friday before taking on the Terrapins at Dupont Country Club in Wilmington on Sunday. The Blue Hens enter the weekend with a 2-5 overall record with a pair of wins over Mount St. Mary's and Duquesne. They have battled a trio of Power Five opponents, including Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

The Blue Hens will be led by Sarah Whited and Sarah Hall, who each have posted nine wins between the fall and spring seasons.

THERE GOES ZOE

Sophomore Zoe Kulkarni has been very successful this season, winning a trio of singles matches and a pair of doubles showdowns. She won her first three singles contests of the season before falling in three sets against VCU.

The Boca Raton, Florida native is coming off a freshman campaign that saw her win 11 singles matches between the fifth and sixth singles positions.

NO STOPPING STRETTON

Senior Millie Stretton picked up where she left off this spring, winning a pair of singles matches through the young season. Stretton was a force throughout the 2018 campaign, winning 15 singles matches and 16 doubles outings with partner Eva Alexandrova.

AN EXPERIENCED BUNCH

All eight players on Maryland's roster have at least one season of collegiate tennis under their belt. The roster also includes seven returners from the 2018 squad, with the lone addition being Kansas transfer Amber Policare.

The Terps will be guided by a pair of seniors: Arnelle Sullivan and Millie Stretton. Sullivan is entering her fourth season in College Park, while Stretton will compete in her second season as a Terrapin after transferring from Kansas State.

ACADEMIC PLAUDITS

The Terps were successful in the classroom last season, with three current members of the squad earning 2018 ITA All-Academic honors.

Eva Alexandrova, Millie Stretton and Saya Usui represented the Terrapins on the list, which includes student-athletes who are varsity letter-winners and have a GPA of at least a 3.5.

Maryland also earned the ITA All-Academic Team award, which goes to a program that has a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or above for the academic year.