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EL PASO, Texas – UTEP will square off against FIU in the first round of the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship at 11 a.m. MT Thursday. The victor between the 13th-seed Miners (7-13) and fourth-seed Panthers (10-7) will advance to the quarterfinals to challenge either fifth-seed North Texas or 12th-seed UAB at 1 p.m. MT Friday.
UTEP enters the event with momentum, having won three of the final four matches to close out the regular season. FIU dropped its last three matches on the year, including most-recently falling at No. 41 Rice, 4-0, on April 7. The setback to Rice spoiled an otherwise perfect (4-1) effort within league play.
"We will continue to play with heart to represent UTEP with class and pride," UTEP head coach
Ivan Fernandez said.
The Orange and Blue will be looking to spring the upset against the fourth-seed Panthers, which would result in their first win at the C-USA Championships since 2009. The Miners toppled Memphis, 4-1, on April 16, 2009, before falling to nationally-ranked (#23) SMU, 4-0, on April 17, 2009.
Leading the charge for UTEP will be freshman
Kirsten Prelle. She finished the regular season at 21-8, including 12-5 in dual action, while setting the tone from the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles action. She has won four straight matches in singles and five in a row (with one unfinished) in doubles.
Sophomore
Erandi Martinez closed out the regular season with three consecutive singles wins, allowing her to move to 8-8 in dual action. She is also second on the squad behind Prelle for overall victories (12). Senior
Yvette van Oijen, who missed the fall portion of the campaign, produced six wins in singles this spring.
Freshmen
Rine Nozaki and
Kathleen Percegona each registered five spring dual triumphs, followed by
Vanessa Valdez (four) and
Milena Baigorria (three). Prelle and Valdez are unbeaten (5-0) in dual play for doubles, with each of the outcomes coming at the No. 1 position.
There will be live stats and video feed available at
https://riceowls.com/sports/2019/1/14/womens-tennis-live.aspx
