Gameday: ECU Hosts A Pair Of Weekend Matches

Match 7: Coastal Carolina (1-2) at ECU (4-2)
Date	Friday, Feb. 22
Time	12 noon (EST)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (ECU Indoor Tennis Center)
Social Media	Twitter: @ecuwtennis Instagram: @ecuwtennis Facebook: ECU Pirates Women's Tennis

Match 8: UNC Greensboro (1-4) at ECU (4-2)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 23
Time	1:30 p.m. (EST)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (ECU Indoor Tennis Center)
Social Media	Twitter: @ecuwtennis Instagram: @ecuwtennis Facebook: ECU Pirates Women's Tennis

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Riding a four-match winning streak, the ECU women's tennis team will host Coastal Carolina and UNC Greensboro this weekend at the ECU Indoor Tennis Center.

"Both matches this weekend will be challenging and hard fought," said head coach Tom Morris. "UNC Greensboro has a much improved team this year, and we have had some very difficult losses against Coastal Carolina in the last few years. I believe we will learn a lot about our team this weekend. We will have to be prepared to play long, grinding points against both schools, and continue our strong doubles play. I expect both matches to be very difficult and very demanding for our team. Ultimately, these kind of matches will make us a better program."

ECU (4-2) has bounced back from starting its season 0-2. The Pirates most recently opened their home slate with a 5-2 win over James Madison and a 7-0 win over Campbell. ECU also beat AAC foes Tulane and Memphis during the winning streak.
Alisa Diercksen leads the team in singles wins, going 12-8 this season and she is 4-0 on court three during the winning streak. Also undefeated during the four most recent matches is Lisa Hofbauer, with the junior going 4-0 on court one in that span. Nastja Rettich is the other Pirate with a double digit win total, racking up a 10-6 record so far. Three-time All-Conference selection Celia Ruiz made her return from injury prior to the Tulane match and she is 2-1, all on court two, since returning to the court.

In doubles, Diercksen and Hofbauer lead the Pirates with a 7-4 record. The pairing is 2-3 in dual matches, all on court one. Ruiz and Minette Van Vreden have started their partnership 3-1, all of which have come on court two.

Coastal Carolina (1-2) is coming off a two-week layoff due to a pair of match postponements. The Chanticleers most recently lost to Furman 4-0 on Feb. 8. None of Coastal Carolina's players have better than a 1-1 record in singles dual matches. Viktorija Demcenkova has held the top court, going 1-1 there. In doubles, the Chanticleers have gone 2-1 as a team on court one, but 0-3 on court two.

UNC Greensboro (1-4) have played just one match away from home this season, falling at North Carolina 7-0. The lone win for the Spartans was a 4-0 win over UNC Asheville. Last season, ECU beat Greensboro 6-1 on the road. Ruiz, Hofbauer, Diercksen, Rettich and Hsia Ho Chiao all won singles matches in the Pirate victory.

First serve for the match between ECU and Coastal Carolina is scheduled for 12 noon on Friday, Feb. 22. ECU and UNC Greensboro are slated to clash on Saturday, Feb. 23 starting at 1:30 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alisa Diercksen

Lisa Hofbauer

Ho Chiao Hsia

Nastja Rettich

Celia Ruiz

Minette Van Vreden

Footer