Lehigh to open league play this weekend vs. Holy Cross, Army
Posted: 03/22/2013
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s tennis team (2-10) will look to get its season on track when it opens Patriot League play against Holy Cross and Army this weekend. The Mountain Hawks will face the Crusaders at 9 a.m. Saturday before their match against the Black Knights at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will take place in West Point, N.Y.
The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 7-0 home loss against St. Joseph’s in which the Lehigh duo of junior Taylor Hampshire and freshman Alexandra Kaminetsky picked up an 8-3 win over Kristina Eisenbrand and Lauren Roy. Eisenbrand needed three sets to take down Hampshire in their singles match, with Hampshire winning the first set 6-4 before dropping the next two 6-1 and 10-3. St. Joseph’s ended up sweeping the individual singles matches.
Junior Jenai Bilmoria and sophomore Abby Farrell continue to be the best pair for Lehigh with a 5-6 overall record in doubles play. Farrell also has a team-best record of 4-7 in individual singles play. Junior Jill Sloand has picked up three wins in overall singles contests this season.
Holy Cross will be trying to end a four-match losing streak and 2-4 record coming into the weekend. Abby Henry, who was the only player to win her match in the team’s last contest against Stonehill on March 13, is 5-3 overall this season. She has teamed up with Addie Devine to create a formidable doubles pair, as the two are 5-3 this season. Cassy Deng and Jessica DeSimone still own Holy Cross’ best record in doubles at 6-1 however.
At 9-3 this season, Army has the Patriot League’s third-best record heading into league play. The Black Knights have won the last eight Patriot League tournament titles. Jamila Paul is one of six competitors on the team with a winning record in singles play, holding an overall record of 15-5 that includes 8-2 in her last 10 singles matches. Gabriella Spindler is not far behind her, boasting an overall mark of 17-6. On the doubles side for the Black Knights, Paul and Erin Colton have been victorious in 12 of their 19 matches. Haley O’Connor and Eva Sung are riding an 8-1 mark in doubles matches this season as well. Before facing Lehigh, Army will host Rhode Island on Friday to end a 19-day layoff and face Patriot League foes Holy Cross and Lafayette. The Black Knights will end a 16-match home stand that dates back to Feb. 1 when they go up against the Mountain Hawks.
The Brown and White finished 2-3 in Patriot League play last season, falling to Army 7-0 on the Ulrich Varsity Courts. Lehigh was on the winning side of a shutout against Holy Cross in a 2011 match in West Point, N.Y.