ANDERSON, S.C. - Winners of three of its last four, Anderson University women's tennis jumps back into its nonconference schedule on Thursday when it hits the road for a showdown with archrival Erskine. First serve from Due West is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Trojans
After stringing together three straight South Atlantic Conference
wins last week, the streak was broken last Saturday by first-place
Wingate, as the Bulldogs remain perfect in the SAC and defeated AU
7-2 at the WU Tennis Complex. Despite the setback, the Trojans
still hold an overall winning record at 7-6 on the year with a 6-3
mark in the league.
With two SAC matches remaining on the schedule, Anderson looks to move into a tie with Newberry, which completed its conference slate and finished the year with an 8-3 league record. Wingate (10-0) continues to sit atop the standings as Tusculum (8-1) and Queens (6-1) chase the league-leading Bulldogs.
Freshman Rebecca Bruning and junior Lindsay Gregory both posted perfect singles records for the week, as the duo teamed up in doubles and recorded a 3-1 mark with the lone setback coming against Wingate's pair of Tiffany Williams and Sierra Parson at the No. 2 position. Bruning, who is AU's No. 3 player, increased her winning streak to nine straight as she was named SAC Co-Player of the Week for her efforts in Anderson's last four matchups. For the year, Bruning is 11-1 with a perfect 8-0 mark against SAC opponents.
Gregory improved her record to 8-4 this season as she is 8-2 in her last 10 matches. In doubles, the Bruning and Gregory team is 7-4 together, while adding a 5-2 mark in the SAC.
The Flying Fleet
With back-to-back wins over Conference Carolinas opponents Pfeiffer
(8-1) and Limestone (5-4) last week, Erskine remained unbeaten in
the conference and improved to 7-0 with two league matches
remaining. Overall, the Fleet is 12-5, but is 2-2 in their last
four contests.
Five of Erskine's six players have perfect 6-0 singles records in league matches this season, as No. 1 Corin Hallman is 11-5 on the year and holds the team's longest current winning streak at three. Hallman is tied with teammate Sarah McDonald (No. 4) for the team-lead in wins, as No. 3 player Mika Goyette leads the Flying Fleet with 12 triumphs on the year, playing at the No. 3 slot.
In doubles, the tandem of Goyette and Hallman is 13-2 at the No. 1 position. The duo is a perfect 6-0 in Conference Carolinas and 9-1 in their last 10 matches. At No. 2, McDonald and Miranda Guthrie have tallied a 10-5 record this season, but have suffered two straight setbacks entering Thursday.
The Series
Since Anderson left Conference Carolinas before the 2011 season,
Anderson has yet to defeat its archrival as a 5-4 loss a season ago
increased Erskine's winning streak to three straight since the
move.
