Bucs to welcome UNCG at 2 p.m.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 9, 2023) – ETSU head women’s tennis coach Ricky Rojas announced that this week’s Southern Conference opener against UNC Greensboro has been officially moved to Saturday, March 11 at 2 p.m. at the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex.

SCOUTING THE BUCS

The Bucs enter with an 8-4 overall record, including a perfect 3-0 record at home with wins over Appalachian State and Davidson over at the Bristol indoor courts and a 6-1 win over Radford on campus.

Two weeks ago, ETSU entered the ITA National Rankings at No. 67 and came in at No. 68 last week. After a tough loss on Sunday at No. 4 NC State — a national championship contender — ETSU slipped just outside this week’s Top 75.

Starting with doubles, ETSU has found much success with top pair Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Mariya Shumeika (Minsk, Belarus) — owning an 8-2 record. Meanwhile, the duo of Maria Fernanda Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) and Daniela Rivera (Maturin, Venezuela) have an 8-3 record in the No. 2 spot.

Bakhodirova has played all 12 matches in the No. 1 singles spot, owning a 9-3 record. Carvajal is 7-1 as the No. 3 singles player, while Rivera is 8-2 in the No. 4 spot.

The Bucs are led by Ricky Rojas, who has 99 career wins leading both the men’s and women’s teams. Rojas has a career record of 87-55 leading the women and an additional 12 wins while serving as interim coach for the men. Rojas also has a 31-6 record against SoCon foes over six seasons.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

UNCG enters with a 3-10 record and will seek their first road win in eight tries on Saturday. The Spartans will also look to snap a four-match skid this weekend.

Conference play opened early for UNCG, as Furman defeated the Spartans 7-0 on Feb. 5 in Greenville, S.C. Saturday’s match will be the second conference meeting for UNCG, followed by Wofford on March 17. Last season, the Spartans went 2-17 with a 1-6 record in league play.

Common opponents this season for ETSU and UNCG include Davidson and Radford. Both teams defeated Radford in dominant fashion, while Davidson split with the SoCon foes with a 6-1 win over UNCG and a 7-0 loss to ETSU.

Redshirt sophomore Arina Babkova leads the Spartans with a 4-8 record at No. 1 singles, while sophomore Alexandra Dodashev has a 3-5 record from the No. 2 slot. The top doubles team of Olivia Gallagher and Hanna Giddings are 5-6 this season. Gallagher is also 5-8 in singles — mostly winning in the No. 4 spot.

SERIES HISTORY

ETSU owns an 8-0 record against the Spartans since rejoining the SoCon in 2015. Prior to that, the two Blue & Gold rivals met last in 2007 — a 7-0 win for the Bucs.

The Bucs have swept the last three meetings, winning 7-0 during the 2021 and 2022 regular seasons and 4-0 in the SoCon quarterfinals last season in Chattanooga.

The last time UNCG defeated ETSU came on March 28, 2003 in Greensboro, 5-2.

AFTER THIS MATCH

The Bucs will break from conference play next week and head to Miami, Fla. for a pair of matches. ETSU will first play tournament host Florida International on Wednesday, March 15 at 12 p.m. The Bucs will close things out with a neutral site match against Yale on Thursday at 12 p.m.

For the latest information on Buccaneer women’s tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.