Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst men's and women's tennis readies for three matches in the middle of March, looking to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday, March 19th, when they go on the road to see Duquesne. They then begin the conference portion of their season schedule as PSAC foe West Chester comes to town on Saturday, March 23rd, for a matchup with the men while the women get back to action on the 24th against Millersville.
Well Represented
In the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Rankings, the women's team ended up making headlines with Kayla Dean being ranked in singles play 28th nationally while she and Roisin Murphy were named the 44th best pairing. On the season, Dean is 10-1 in singles play with all of those contests coming as the Laker's number one, winning each of her last nine bouts. In doubles play she and Murphy are 7-4 to this point as the team's top tandem, showing themselves to be one of the best duos in the conference once again.
Scouting Duquesne
The men are 5-6 to this point in the season and have fallen on hard times here of late with the team losing each of their last four contests. That stretch began with their first competition of March in a 4-3 loss to Queens and has ran through the 16th in a matchup with Youngstown State that the Penguins ended up winning, 5-2. Despite the rough patch, Duquesne has to feel good coming into the match as they are 4-1 at home with their last competition inside their friendly confines be a 4-3 win over Carnegie Mellon on February 24th. Similar to the men, the women are riding a four-match losing streak, carrying a record of 3-9 to this point in the season. They too have been much better when at home as all of their wins have come there and hope for another against the Lakers.
Scouting West Chester
The Golden Ram's men's team is 1-5 on the year to this point with two matches on their ledger before seeing the Lakers as they host Ursinus College on the 19th before a contest with Edinboro on the 22nd. Most recently, the team went to Orlando, Fl. to compete in a trio of match from the 11th to the 14th where they went 1-2 with losses in each of their last two contests including a sweep at the hands of Morgan State.
Scouting Millersville
The Marauder's mens team is 4-4 as of now with two matches before seeing the Lakers on the 24th. They started off their season well with wins in each of their first three matches with back-to-back 6-1 wins during that stretch, but have fallen off of late with a 1-4 record in their last five and now hope to turn things around. The women come in similarly with a 4-5 overall record while winning only one of their last five contests. That win came in their most recent matchup against Jefferson on March 16th in a 5-2 victory, hoping that spurs them forward.
Next Match
The Lakers return to the court on Wednesday, March. 27th, when West Virginia Wesleyan comes to town in a 12:00 p.m. start before Seton Hill's women's team makes the trip to the Westwood Racquet Club on the 29th in an 11:00 a.m. start to round out the schedule for the team for the month of March.
