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Lady Flames Host West Virginia on Friday
2/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty women's tennis squad begins a three-match home stand on Friday against West Virginia at 2 p.m. at the Sports Racket.
2016 Season
The Lady Flames enter the weekend with a 2-3 overall record, having most recently defeated Elon by a score of 6-1 on Saturday. The victory halted a three-match skid for Liberty and improved its overall record against the Phoenix to 2-4.
The Lady Flames are led in singles by Evangeline Crist and Maria Khval who each have a 3-2 record in singles competition. The doubles squad is led by Valerie Thong and Crist with a record of 4-1. The doubles tandem entered the season ranked No. 8 in the Atlantic Region.
Scouting West Virginia
The Mountaineers are 3-1 entering this weekend's showdown in the Hill City. After falling to Pittsburgh by a score of 6-1 on Jan. 23, West Virginia has won three consecutive matches. Most recently the Mountaineers defeated Akron on Sunday, 5-2.
West Virginia's squad consists of 10 players and only two upperclassmen. The Mountaineers have played the same six singles players in each of the four contests, thus far. Sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team with a 4-0 record in singles, as well as a 4-0 record in doubles alongside lone senior Hailey Barrett.
Chasing History
Belen Rivera and Maria Khval continue to climb up the program's all-time singles wins ladder. Rivera currently ranks sixth all-time in singles wins with 51, while Khval moved into seventh place on Saturday, passing Cameron Richard with her 50th victory. Valerie Thong continues to improve her rankings in doubles action, having notched 15 victories during the 2015-16 season, moving the senior into second most all-time doubles wins in program history with 77. With a victory on Friday, Thong will tie Jordan Jenkins for the most doubles wins in program history with 78.
Series History
Liberty and West Virginia will square off on the tennis courts for the fifth time in program history on Friday. The series is currently knotted at two apiece with Liberty having won the previous two meetings. Most recently, the Lady Flames bested the Mountaineers, 6-1, on Jan. 25, 2014, at the Charleston Indoor Raquet Club in Charleston, W.Va. Friday's contest will be the first time Liberty has hosted West Virginia.
Following this weekend's matchup, the Lady Flames host a pair of non-conference opponents. Liberty will take on VCU on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. followed by North Texas on Feb. 21 at noon. Both contests will be played at the Sports Racket.