HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky's men's and women's tennis teams host another pair of Horizon League opponents this weekend, with Valparaiso coming to Highland Heights on Saturday, April 8, followed by matches against UIC on Sunday, April 9. On both days, the women will start competition at 11 a.m. ET, followed by the men at 2:30 p.m. All four matches are scheduled to be played at Joyce Yeager Tennis Complex on the NKU campus.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse had a competitive weekend against Cleveland State and Youngstown State, with the women dropping 4-3 decisions to two of the League's top teams while the men claimed a 4-3 win over the Vikings before falling to the Penguins, 5-2. Freshman Margita Sunjic was the only Norse on either squad to go undefeated in singles, taking down CSU's reigning HL Freshman of the Year before a dominant win over YSU's reigning HL Player of the Year, both in straight sets. For her performances, Sunjic was honored as the League's Player of the Week as she extended to a streak of five consecutive straight-set victories in the No. 1 spot.
SCOUTING VALPARAISO: The Crusaders' women's team is still searching for its first Horizon League win, and has only recorded one victory this season after taking down Cal Lutheran on March 10. Valpo has been blanked by all three of its League opponents thus far, dropping 7-0 matches to Youngstown State, Cleveland State and UIC.
The Valpo men's program has recently become the gold standard in the Horizon League after earning its first ever NCAA berth last year, as the Crusaders sit at 17-3 overall and have posted 7-0 victories in all three League matchups this season. Valpo is looking to get back in the win column after having a 16-match winning streak snapped with losses to Middle Tennessee and No. 47 South Alabama last weekend. The Crusaders return all three of their all-league honorees from a season ago, including the two-time reigning HL Player of the Year, Jeffrey Schorsch, who had been on a winning rampage as the No. 1 singles player with 15 consecutive straight-set victories before his most recent three-set defeat against South Alabama.
SCOUTING UIC: The women Flames have seen a successful season with an 11-5 record and a 2-1 mark in League play, with wins over Youngstown State and Valparaiso in addition to a setback to Cleveland State. NKU will be looking for its first win over UIC this weekend, as the Flames have posted victories in the four prior meetings in history. Oana Manole leads the UIC lineup, but has posted just three wins as the bulk of UIC's singles victories come from its No. 4-6 players.
UIC's men hold a 5-8 record on the season, but have yet to win a match in Horizon League competition. The team is headlined by Carl Hedstrom in the No. 1 singles spot, who garnered first team all-league accolades last season but has struggled this year with a 3-8 overall record for the Flames. UIC will be seeking redemption against the Norse, as NKU bounced the Flames from the Horizon League Tournament last season with a 4-2 victory.
For more information on NKU's men's and women's tennis program, follow the team on Twitter @NKUNorseTennis or at facebook.com/nkunorsetennis.
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