WTEN | Gaels Open WCC Play Against USF, Travel To Pacific
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's tennis team will get the 2012 WCC regular season underway this weekend when they host Bay Area rival San Francisco. The No. 36-ranked Gaels will also hit the road for a match this weekend in Stockton against Pacific.
SMC will open the weekend on Saturday, March 10 against the Dons with first serve scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex. The following day, the Gaels will head to Stockton for a 1 p.m. match against the Tigers at the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts.
Saint Mary's enters the weekend with a 5-5 record and is ranked No. 36 in the most recent ITA poll. After jumping to a program-best No. 20 in the rankings released on February 28, the Gaels fell considerably in the poll after dropping two tough road matches at No. 27 Arizona State and No. 29 Arizona last weekend.
Sophomore Jenny Jullien continues to lead the Gaels this season and was recently named the WCC Singles Player of the Month for February. Jullien is 7-2 this spring and is currently ranked No. 97 in the latest ITA singles poll. Spring transfer Carla Lindlar has made a positive impact this season and has the second best win total this season with a 6-4 mark. Junior Catherine Isip is ranked No. 112 in the singles poll after having played all but one match at the No. 1 spot for the Gaels, while senior Anna Chkhikvsihvili and sophomore Jade Frampton are 5-4 in singles this season.
San Francisco enters Saturday's match with a 2-6 record, with their only two wins of the season coming over UC Santa Cruz in their first match of the season and Pacific in their most recent match. In between those two wins, the Dons have losses to Cal Poly, UC Davis, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford and Santa Clara. The Gaels are 35-3 all-time against San Francisco, including a 6-1 win last season.
Pacific enters the weekend with a 4-7 record and will play San Jose State on Saturday before the match against the Gaels. The Tigers have lost their last three straight matches to UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and San Francisco. Saint Mary's is 7-9 all-time against Pacific, but the Gaels have won the last five-straight against the Tigers including a 6-1 win in Moraga last season.
Following the matches against San Francisco and Pacific, the Gaels have another home and away weekend scheduled next week. Saint Mary's will host Boise State at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 17 and then hit the road to take on Sacramento State the following day.
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