Women’s Tennis Visits Rival Appalachian State Saturday – Western Carolina University – Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina women’s tennis team heads to Boone, N.C., on Saturday, March 2, for the latest installment of their rivalry series with Appalachian State. Action from the courts at Watagua High School in the High Country is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Match Information
Teams: Western Carolina (8-5) at App State (3-4)
Venue: Watagua High School
Live Stats: Western Carolina vs. Appalachian State (statbroadcast.com)
Last Time Out:
The Catamounts opened conference play on the road in Johnson City, Tenn., as they took the courts opposite of ETSU in a match that went 7-0 in favor of the home team. Western Carolina is currently amidst a four-match slide that includes a 0-3 record away from Cullowhee. During that stretch, the Catamounts faced Charlotte, Boston U., Kennesaw State, and ETSU. Before the four-match skid, the Purple and Gold set a program record for consecutive wins as they took eight straight following a season-opening loss at Clemson.
Appalachian State plays its first of two back-to-back matches later this afternoon (Friday) against Duquesne, but most recently fell on the road at Elon by a score of 4-3. The Mountaineers opened the road matchup by taking the early doubles point thanks to victories in the one and three spots, but dropped four of the six singles matches in straight sets to fall to 3-4 on the season.
Players to Watch:
Western Carolina shook up the doubles pairings some in their last outing against ETSU as Dasha Osadova joined Andrea Redondo in the two spot and Jade Groen coupled with Madison Schwarz on the third court. The only pairing that has remained relatively unchanged this season is in the one spot, where Angela Perez and Isabella Sambola have compiled a 6-4 record since Madison and Chloe Schwarz opened the season there. After a brief stint and 1-0 record at the number two singles spot against Kennesaw State, Isabella Sambola returned to the top court against the Bucs.
The Mountaineers picked up the doubles point in their loss to Elon thanks to great efforts by Naledi Manyube and Savannah Dada-Mascoll in the one spot and Taya Powell and Maggie Pate on the third court. On the singles courts, only Dada-Mascoll and Pate were able to pick up victories but did so in impressive fashion as both Mountaineers picked up straight-set wins on courts one and two respectively.
Common Opponents:
Western Carolina and Appalachian State have faced four common opponents so far this season. The Catamounts hold the edge in those four matchups with a 3-1 record (6-1 W vs Davidson, 7-0 W at Queens, 5-2 W at Gardner-Webb, 7-0 L at ETSU) while the Mountaineers are 2-2 against those same foes (4-2 L at Davidson, 6-1 W vs Queens, 4-3 W at Gardner-Webb, 6-1 L at ETSU). App State’s Savana Dada-Mascoll was the only one between the two teams to claim a point against ETSU.
Series History:
The Catamounts have faced the Mountaineers more than any other opponent in history as the two schools have found each on opposite sides of the court a total of 42 times. App State holds the edge in the overall matchups as the Catamounts trail in the series 8-34 but hold a tighter 2-3 record over the last five. WCU came away with the win in the most recent matchup in 2022 as the Catamounts earned a 5-1 home victory. The Purple and Gold will look to claim their first road win in the series since the 1996-97 season.
For the latest information on Catamount women’s tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com. In-match updates are on the Catamount women’s tennis official tennis Twitter page.
