East Carolina Faces Houston At AAC Championship

ORLANDO, Fla. – The East Carolina women's tennis team is set for postseason play as the Pirates travel down to Orlando for the 2023 American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship.

ECU is seeded 10th for the tournament and will face off against No. 7 seed Houston Wednesday, April 19, in the first round. First serve is set for Noon at the USTA National Campus.

The Pirates and Cougars met in last year's event with Houston recording a 4-0 victory in Tulsa, Okla. East Carolina seeks its first win at the league championship since April 19, 2017, when it defeated Connecticut 4-3 in the first round.

ECU is 9-9 overall and has split its last four matches, defeating Campbell and VCU while falling to William & Mary and then No. 7 NC State. The Pirates have already won five more matches than a season ago and will look to record double-digit victories for the first time since they amassed 22 triumphs in 2019.

The doubles tandem of Ines Bachir and Alisha Hussain have been quite solid this campaign, carrying a 14-4 dual record into the championship tournament. They are 9-1 in their last 10 bouts and own a ranked win over then No. 56 Sofiya Kuzina and Ine Stange. Martina Muzzolon and Isabella Rivera Ortiz also own a respectable 9-7 dual ledger in doubles play.

Bachir and Muzzolon share the squad lead in singles wins with 11 apiece. Muzzolon is 11-4 (9-2 at No. 3) while Bachir checks in at 11-6. Joan Madi isn't far behind, boasting a 9-6 record and an 8-3 mark playing in the fifth position.

The winner of the East Carolina-Houston contest will face No. 2 seed UCF in the quarterfinals Thursday at Noon.

2023 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
April 19-22 | USTA National Campus | Orlando, Fla.

First Round | Wednesday, April 19
No. 9 Temple (16-4) vs. No. 8 Tulane (7-10) - 9 a.m.
No. 11 Cincinnati (8-13) vs. No. 6 Memphis (8-12) - 9 a.m.
No. 10 East Carolina (9-9) vs. No. 7 Houston (13-8) - Noon

Quarterfinals | Thursday, April 20
Temple/Tulane winner vs. No. 1 SMU (13-8) - 9 a.m.
No. 5 Wichita State (12-9) vs. No. 4 Tulsa (13-10) - 9 a.m.
Cincinnati/Memphis winner vs. No. 3 South Florida (13-8) - Noon
East Carolina/Houston winner vs. No. 2 UCF (9-10) - Noon

Semifinals | Friday, April 21
Quarterfinal winners - 3 p.m.
Quarterfinal winners - 3 p.m.

Final | Sunday, April 22 | ESPN+
Semifinal winners - 4 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ines Bachir

Alisha Hussain

Joan Madi

Martina Muzzolon

Isabella Rivera Ortiz

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