Jan. 21, 2010

Match Notes

By: Lindsey Williford, Media Relations Graduate Assistant

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 11th-ranked University of Tennessee women's tennis team begins the dual-match portion of its 2010 schedule when it welcomes No. 33 Illinois and East Tennessee State to Rocky Top this weekend.

The Lady Volunteers battle the Fighting Illini at 4 p.m. on Fri., Jan. 22, before hosting in-state foe ETSU at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Goodfriend Tennis Center.

The Big Orange, fresh off a trip to the Michigan Invitational on Jan. 16-18 in Ann Arbor, Mich., looks to stay nearly perfect in home openers. During his 22 seasons in Knoxville, Co-Head Coach Mike Patrick holds a 21-1 record in home openers, while fellow head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick's record in those matches is 11-1. The lone defeat for both was a 5-2 loss to North Carolina on Jan. 21, 2006.

This Friday's match against Illinois will mark the 17th time the teams have met, with the Lady Vols holding a 15-1 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Tennessee edged out a 4-3 victory in Champaign, Ill.

ETSU will open the dual-match play at Eastern Kentucky on Sat., Jan. 23, and then make a quick turnaround for its 12th all-time contest against Tennessee. The two squads met in Knoxville last season for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UT claimed the 4-0 victory.

Live scoring for this weekend's events will be available at www.UTLadyVols.com.

The Lady Vols will remain at home next weekend when they host the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. If UT can advance past No. 31 Texas on Sat., Jan. 30, it would play the winner of the No. 22 Vanderbilt-No. 27 TCU showdown the next afternoon.