Mountain Hawks return home for two league matches
Posted: 04/04/2012
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s tennis team continues its run through Patriot League play with a pair of home matches over the next three days. The Mountain Hawks will host perennial league power Army on Thursday before welcoming Colgate Saturday morning.
Lehigh will host the Patriot League Tournament April 20-22. After dropping their league opener Sunday at Navy, the Mountain Hawks will be looking for a bounce-back effort while trying to strengthen their position within the league standings.
The Mountain Hawks (3-11) fell to Navy 6-1 Sunday in Annapolis in their Patriot League opener. Lehigh won one singles and one doubles match on the day with senior Liz Piscitelli having a hand in both. Piscitelli teamed with freshman Gabby Drucker for a win at No. 2 doubles, and then accounted for the Mountain Hawks’ only point of the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Stefanie Ton. Piscitelli leads Lehigh with six wins in doubles play, while sophomore Jenai Bilimoria and freshman Abby Farrell are tied for the team lead with five singles wins apiece.
Army has been the dominant women’s tennis program in the Patriot League, capturing the last seven league titles. The Black Knights moved to 14-6 in 2012 with a 5-2 win over Long Island Tuesday at West Point. Army opened its league slate with a 7-0 win over Colgate on Saturday. The Black Knights defeated Lehigh 7-0 last year at West Point.
Saturday’s opponent, Colgate is 4-11 overall and 1-2 in league matches. The Raiders are coming off a 7-0 win over Lafayette after dropping matches to Army and Navy. Colgate will visit Hamilton College on Wednesday and Bucknell on Friday prior to Saturday’s meeting with the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh and Colgate split two meetings last year, with the Mountain Hawks prevailing 4-2 in Hamilton, N.Y. and the Raiders ending Lehigh’s season with a 4-3 triumph in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament.
Thursday’s Lehigh-Army match will begin at 3:30 p.m., while the Lehigh-Colgate match on Saturday is set for a 10 a.m. start. Both matches will be played outdoors on the Ulrich Varsity Courts, unless inclement weather moves them inside the Lewis Tennis Center.