Pirates Open Season At No. 3 North Carolina

Match 1: East Carolina (0-0) at No. 3 North Carolina (2-0)
The Game	January 18 \\\ 2 p.m. \\\ Live Stats \\\ Watch Live
Venue	Chapel Hill, N.C.
2021-22 Statistics	East Carolina \| North Carolina
Social Media	Twitter \\\ Instagram

GREENVILLE, N.C. – For the first time since March 7, 2020, the East Carolina women's tennis team will line up for an official dual match as the Pirates travel to No. 3 North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon.

"This is the first match on a very tough schedule, but with all that has happened recently, we have learned to treat each match as an opportunity," said head coach Kirstin Burgess. "North Carolina is obviously one of the top teams in the country at the moment and we are ready to test ourselves against the best in the NCAA."

East Carolina (0-0) has just one player on the roster that has played in a dual match in senior Alisa Diercksen, who has 28-15 dual match record in the Purple and Gold as well as a 46-30 overall record in singles play. Five other Pirates made their ECU debuts during the fall season. Ines Bachir, Alisha Hussain and Martina Muzzolon all racked up four singles victories during the fall slate, while Anne Lou Champion had three. Laura Becker is still looking for her first win as a Pirate after making her debut during the final event of the fall. The Pirates also added Sofia Cerezo Holgado and Isabella Rivera Ortiz during the fall signing period with the pair arriving on campus this month and could make their debuts against the Tar Heels.

On the doubles side, the pairing of Bachir and Lou Champion leads the way with a 4-4 record together, including winning the doubles title at the Elon Invitational. Muzzolon has found success in a pair of double partnerships. The freshman picked up a pair of victories when partnered with Diercksen and also teamed with Hussain to go 2-1 at the Elon Invitational.

North Carolina (2-0) will be a stiff test for the young Pirates as the third-ranked Tar Heels have already picked up 7-0 wins over Elon and Appalachian State to begin their season. North Carolina is coming off a season that saw the Tar Heels finish 30-1, with that one loss coming to Pepperdine in the NCAA Championship Semifinals. Not only does North Carolina start the season as the No. 3 ranked team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) poll, but the Tar Heels also have six doubles pairings and five singles players included in the ITA national rankings. Leading the way is Fiona Crawley and Elizabeth Scotty, who are the No. 1 ranked doubles tandem. Cameron Morra and Reilly Tran are in the top-10 in singles, ranked No. 5 and No. 7 respectively. Rounding out the singles rankings are Carson Tanguilig (No. 13), Fiona Crawley (No. 19) and Anika Yarlagadda (No. 57).

Tuesday's match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., in Chapel Hill. Fans can watch the matches here or follow the live scoring here.

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Players Mentioned

Ines Bachir

Laura Becker

Sofia Cerezo Holgado

Anne Lou Champion

Alisa Diercksen

Alisha Hussain

Martina Muzzolon

Isabella Rivera Ortiz

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