CHARLESTON, S.C. – After playing six of its first seven matches indoors, College of Charleston women's tennis returns to outdoor courts this weekend with a pair of matches in Florida.
“We look forward to returning to outdoor courts for the remainder of our season,” head coach Angelo Anastopoulo said.
The Cougars (0-7) practice solely on outdoor courts in Charleston and played the vast majority of its matches indoors, until switching to the CAA two years ago.
First up for CofC this weekend will be a Saturday morning matchup with Stetson in DeLand, Fla. The Hatters (7-1) are riding high off a pair of 7-0 victories over SC State and Oakland last week. Since Stetson is among a handful of schools able to host outdoors matches in early spring, the team is in the midst of a 10-match home stand. With a 6-0 record at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center, the Hatters are unbeaten on their home turf in 2015.
The Hatters are led by a group of talented, young players. Freshman Alizee Michaud is ranked 78th nationally in singles and has won back-to-back Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week honors. She boasts a perfect 6-0 record as the top singles player for Stetson and pairs with fellow freshman Ashley Dean for a 3-2 record in the top doubles spot. Sophomore Isabella Fernandez was crowned the most recent A-Sun Player of the Week after going a perfect 4-0 with wins in No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles over Bethune-Cookman and SC State.
The Cougars will take a short breather on Sunday before facing North Florida in Jacksonville on Monday morning. The Ospreys (3-2) are returning home after traveling to Statesboro, Ga. for a Saturday matchup with Georgia Southern. North Florida is 3-0 at the UNF Tennis Complex and is led by sophomore Michelle Valdez, who is a 4-0 in singles, primarily playing as the fourth seed. Sophomore Quetzali Vazquez is on a three-match win streak at the No. 5 singles spot.
Fans will be able to follow all the action while the Cougars are in Florida this weekend. Tune in at 10 am on Saturday morning to watch live video of CofC vs. Stetson or follow along on Live Stats. Fans can also follow Live Stats for Monday's 11 am matchup with North Florida as well.
