HARROGATE, Tenn. – The LMU tennis teams will play in their first dual match of the season when they host Emmanuel College Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the LMU Tennis Complex. In case of rain, they will move into the LMU Indoor Facility.
The teams have played in tournaments the past two weekends, starting with the LMU Speed Tournament two weeks ago. Last weekend they won 33 out of 36 possible matches in the University of the Cumberlands Fall Invitational.
The women's team enters the match coming off a 13-7 campaign last year that saw them go 6-4 in South Atlantic Conference play and narrowly miss out on a trip to the SAC Tournament semifinals after a 5-4 loss at Newberry in the quarterfinals.
The team lost three key players to graduation, but return a strong nucleus to build around this season.
Marta Pinol returns for her senior campaign tied for tenth in career wins and went 13-8 last year.
Johanna Delisse and
Julia Loos both are back for their junior seasons and as a duo last year they went 10-9 in doubles play while Loos won 12 matches in singles play.
Kiersten Waugh and
Laurel Tipps also return for their junior seasons this year. Sophomores
Julia Valls (15-8 singles) and Kristen Vogel (9-2 in doubles with Valls) both have a year under the
Benny Collins system under their belts and will be looking to improve on last year's outings. Coach Collins has brought in a solid freshman class to bolster the ranks this year, with
Amanda Dahlstrom,
Samantha Hogan,
Claudia Rodriguez and
Anne van der Horst all seeking to make an immediate impact on the team.
Last year the women's team defeated Emmanuel 5-4.
The men return five players from last season's 12-7 squad.
David Segarra (16-5 singles and 18-4 doubles) and
Moritz Hoerner (9-7 singles) return for their senior campaigns after strong outings last season while
Xavier Marti,
Jake Tuchmann and
Iker Moure all return as well. Coach Collins is going with a smaller roster this season, only bringing in two newcomers in
Sebastian Colla and
Fabian Sjokvist, who are both freshmen.
They defeated Emmanuel in their meeting last season by a 6-3 margin.
The teams will close out the fall portion of their schedule Sept. 27-30 when they will play In the ITA Southeast Regionals in Sumter, South Carolina.
