WTEN Preview: Washington & Oregon
2/2/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - The 2017 home dual match season for the TCU women's tennis team will begin this weekend as the Horned Frogs are set to host two Pac-12 opponents in Washington on Feb. 3 and Oregon on Feb. 5 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.
The Frogs (3-1) will open action with the Huskies (6-0) on Friday at 2 p.m., before taking on the Ducks (3-2) at 1 p.m., on Sunday to end the weekend competition. For both matches, there will be free admission to all fans and free pizza courtesy of Buffalo Bros., in between the doubles and singles portion of both matches.
"Washington is a great team that's been building confidence throughout the whole year," head coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "We were able to see them at Texas A&M in November and know the level they compete at. Last Sunday was a bummer for our team against Oklahoma State, so it's nice to have a quality opponent in such short notice because our girls want to prove we are capable and ready to compete and beat anyone. With Washington coming in undefeated and confident, it's going to be a test but I know it's one we are ready for and one that will give us some real confidence and swagger after we come through it. The girls have put in some hard work this week, and haven't tapered much and because of this, I think we've come up a level and will have a great performance this weekend. We hope to get a good home crowd out because it makes a huge difference and we need and appreciate the support."
TCU Notables
TCU went 1-1 last weekend at the 2017 ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Stillwater, Okla., and opened the weekend with a 4-0 sweep of Wichita State before dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 5 Oklahoma State. No. 75 Seda Arantekin has a 3-0 record in singles so far this season with all three wins coming at the No. 2 spot. Olaya Garrido-Rivas is 3-1, while No. 115 Marie Norris has a 2-0 mark this season.
In doubles action, Garrido-Rivas and Donika Bashota hold the team's lone ranking at No. 16 and upset the No. 11 ranked pairing of Vladica Babic and Carla Tur Mari of Oklahoma State last weekend. The duo are 3-1 on the season at the No. 1 spot, while Arantekin and Caroline Wegner are also 3-1 this year at the No. 2 spot.
Scouting the Huskies
The Huskies played in their home opener last weekend when they hosted Portland and Seattle for a doubleheader. Washington picked up two 6-1 wins, with four players earning four total wins between each match. Stacey Fung picked up two doubles wins paired with Kenadi Hance, and grabbed two wins in singles on court one to earn her team-leading 12th win on the year. After beginning last year's dual match season winning nine straight matches in singles before taking a loss, Hance has begun her sophomore campaign at 6-0.
Scouting the Ducks
Oregon is 3-2 on the season after going 1-1 last weekend in the 2017 ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Ducks suffered a 4-0 loss to North Carolina in the opening round before taking out Columbia, 4-2, in the consolation match. Three Oregon players are 3-1 in singles action so far this spring season with Alyssa Tobita getting all her wins at the No. 3 position. Marlou Kluiving is 3-1 in singles and is also 3-2 with Julia Eshet in doubles action. Rifanty Kahfiani is also 3-1 in singles and has posted three wins in doubles with partners Nia Rose and Tobita.
All-Time Series Records
TCU and Washington will be squaring for the sixth time in program history with the Frogs holding the overall advantage at 3-2. TCU won the first three meetings dating back to 1979, but the Huskies have scored the last two wins. The last time a match between the two programs took place in Fort Worth was on Feb. 25, 2011 when Washington came away with a 4-3 win. The match on Friday marks the third time the teams have played at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Oregon will be making its way to Fort Worth for the second time in program history and first time since April 14, 2001. In the only other meeting between the teams, TCU came away with a 4-3 victory on the Bernard J. 'Tut' Bartzen Varsity Courts.
Live Results
Live results of the matches can be found at TCU.StatBroadcast.com, with final results and a recap available at GoFrogs.com following the completion of the competitions. In-match updates can also be found by following TCU women's tennis on twitter (@TCUWomensTennis).
Players Mentioned
