FGCU WTEN @ North Alabama; Lipscomb Preview

Due to impending weather in the Florence area, the FGCU women's tennis team's (7-8, 2-2 A-SUN) match versus UNA (5-13, 0-3 A-SUN) has been moved to 3 p.m. (EDT) Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles are still slated to take on Lipscomb (13-4, 2-1 A-SUN) at noon this Saturday in Nashville, TN.

Last Time Out:
FGCU is coming off a 4-3 road loss to Stetson last Saturday. The Eagles reeled off three straight singles wins to jump ahead of the Hatters after falling behind in doubles. Junior Bridget Forster (Boca Raton, Fla./Florida Virtual School) claimed the first victory, collecting a 6-2, 6-1 decision on court No. 5. Shortly after, sophomore Sara Kelly broke the tie with a 6-4, 6-1 win on court No. 2. Junior Maja Ornberg then extended the Green and Blue's lead to 3-1, registering a 6-0, 6-2 victory on the top flight. From here, the home side secured the comeback winning the final three matches, one of which went into three sets.

A-SUN Preseason Poll
The back-to-back A-SUN regular-season champion Eagles collected 52 points and one first-place vote in the A-SUN Coaches Poll released back in January. Atop the poll, conference newcomer Liberty and UNF each garnered 57 points apiece for a first-place tie. The Ospreys came away with four first-place votes compared to the Flames' three.

Lipscomb (37) was selected to finish fourth in the poll, ahead of Stetson (35) and NJIT (24). Kennesaw State (18) and the A-SUN's second newcomer team this year North Alabama (8) rounded out the poll.

A-SUN Standings
1. UNF – 12-6, 3-0
2. Liberty – 10-6, 3-1
3. Lipscomb – 13-4, 2-1
4. FGCU – 7-8, 2-2
T-5. NJIT – 12-5, 1-2
T-5. Stetson – 10-6, 1-2
T-5. KSU – 2-13, 1-2
8. UNA – 5-13, 0-3

Scouting the Lions:
UNA enters the matchup at home on a six match losing streak, which includes three non-conference losses to Austin Peay (7-0) and  #33 Georgia Tech (7-0, 7-0).

Freshman Payton Andrews has collected two wins this season, playing mostly out of the No. 1 slot. Meanwhile, in doubles play, Andrews has teamed up with senior Claudia Arroyo for a pair of wins on court No. 3.

This will be the first meeting between both programs.

Scouting the Bisons:
Lipscomb holds an overall 13-4 record with a 2-1 mark in A-SUN play. The Bison are coming off of a loss to Liberty by a score of 4-3 and will play NJIT prior to playing FGCU.

Senior Vika Dzyuba leads the way on the top court with an overall mark of 12-3 as she is currently on a three-match win streak. In doubles action, Dzyuba has paired with sophomore Kate Popova for an 11-4 record on court No. 1. They are 9-1 in their last 10 matches.

FGCU leads the all-time series against Lipscomb, 11-0.

Up Next:
FGCU will close out the regular season facing Kennesaw State at 5 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 13 on Senior Day.