TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's tennis team will compete for the first time since March 2 when it plays a pair of matches this weekend. The Knights will travel to Cambridge, Mass. on Saturday to take on Harvard at 1 p.m. before hosting Saint Francis University on Sunday for a 2 p.m. match at the FDU Tennis Courts.
FDU was scheduled to host Fairfield and Fordham earlier this week but inclement weather forced the cancelation of those matches, pushing the spring home opener back to Sunday.
After going 2-0 in the fall season, FDU has lost all four of its matches this spring (at Rutgers, at Army, vs. Massachusetts, at Cornell). Freshman
Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg) was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Month earlier in March after picking up victories over No. 3 flight competitors from Rutgers and Army, which at the time, gave her a nine-match win streak.
Individual Records:
Senior
Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 ): 5-9; 1-5 at No. 1 (1-0 NEC)
Senior
Egzona Morina (Prishtina, Kosovo/American School of Kosovo): 10-8, 0-4 at No. 2, 1-1 at No. 3 (1-0 NEC)
Freshman
Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg): 9-4; 2-2 at No.3, 2-0 at No. 4 (1-0 NEC)
Sophomore
Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 ): 9-6; 2-0 at No. 2, 2-2 at No. 4 (1-0 NEC)
Junior
Manuela Leme (Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz): 5-8; 0-4 at No. 5, 1-1 at No. 6 (1-0 NEC)
Sophomore
Gabriela Sarrate (Union City, NJ/Union City): 1-7; 0-4 at No. 6
Freshman
Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park): 12-1; 2-0 at No. 5 (1-0 NEC)
The Knights will look to snap its four-match losing streak against Harvard (6-4), as the two sides will be meeting for the first time ever. The Crimson had won four straight before falling at South Florida, 4-3, last time out on March 20. Harvard played its first eight matches at home to start the spring and went 5-3.
The Crimson has posted victories over Cleveland State (7-0), Maryland (6-1), Boston University (5-2), Binghamton (4-0), NJIT (7-0) and Stetson (5-2) while dropping matches to William & Mary (5-2), Kansas State (5-2), Boston College (4-3) and South Florida.
Harvard's No. 1 singles player, Hideko Tachibana, is 6-3 on the season. Amy He, who has primarily played at No. 2 and No. 3, is 7-1 on the year, as is Amanda Lin, who has played at slots three through six.
In doubles, Tachibana and Kristin Norton are 4-0 at No. 1, while Lin and Sylvia Li are a combined 6-1 in dual matches and 13-2 on the season at No. 2 and No. 3.
After its match with Harvard, FDU will return home on Sunday to take on Saint Francis University in a Northeast Conference match, as part of a doubleheader with the men's teams between the two sides competing at 10 a.m.
The Red Flash (6-6, 1-1 NEC) will play at LaSalle on Saturday before driving up the New Jersey Turnpike to face the Knights. SFU has won three in a row and four of its last five, including a victory over St. Francis Brooklyn last time out on March 16. During their three-match win streak, the Red Flash has blanked Rider and Coppin State on the road.
No other statistical information has been given on SFU.
Following the weekend matches, the Knights will continue NEC play with a road match at Sacred Heart on Wednesday, March 27, with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m.