East Carolina Hosts N.C. Central In Home Opener

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina women's tennis program plays in front of its home crowd for the first time Saturday, Jan. 21, hosting N.C. Central for a non-conference bout at the River Birch Tennis Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m.

The Pirates opened the 2023 dual campaign with a 7-0 loss to No. 2 North Carolina in Chapel Hill last Monday.

ECU dropped the doubles point to begin the afternoon as Alisha Hussain and Ines Bachir lost a 6-1 decision to Reese Brantmeier and Abbey Forbes while Martina Muzzolon and Isabella Rivera Ortiz fell 6-0 to Reilly Tran and Elizabeth Scotty.

North Carolina clinched the match with wins at 1-3, but the teams played the match out. Kim Auerswald battled Lindsey Zink in two close sets at No. 4 before falling 6-4, 6-3. Alisha Hussain also put up a strong fight against Sara McClure, losing the first set in a tiebreak. Sophia Patel defeated Joan Madi 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 position.

N.C. Central also kickstarted its season against the Tar Heels back on Wednesday, falling by the same 7-0 margin. The Eagles captured 14 games in singles play and two games across the three doubles matches.

East Carolina defeated N.C. Central 6-1 last season in Durham as Muzzolon, Hussain, Bachir and Laura Becker all picked up singles victories while Bachir and Hussain teamed up for a doubles triumph.

Up Next: ECU travels to Lynchburg, Va. Jan. 28 for a doubleheader with Liberty (9 a.m.) and Longwood (1 p.m.).

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Players Mentioned

Kim Auerswald

Ines Bachir

Laura Becker

Alisha Hussain

Joan Madi

Martina Muzzolon

Isabella Rivera Ortiz

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