Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Host No. 43 William & Mary, No. 3 UNC
3/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 18, 2011
The Wake Forest women's tennis team will take on a pair of ranked opponents this weekend, facing off against No. 43 William & Mary Saturday and No. 3 North Carolina Sunday. Both matches are set for noon at Leighton Stadium.
Sweet Swing Through Texas
Wake Forest strung together three of its best matches of the season last week, going 2-1 against three ranked teams on its Spring Break trip through Texas.
The Deacs earned road wins over No. 75 TCU and No. 53 Rice, and came up just short of an upset of No. 27 Texas A&M. Wake is now 3-1 in its last four matches.
Pavelec Perfect in the Lone Star State
It's not much of a stretch to say that few people in college tennis had a better week last week than Martina Pavelec. Pavelec went a perfect 6-0 in singles and doubles during the Deacons' trip to Texas, highlighted by 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 19 Nazari Urbina of Texas A&M.
The Stuttgart, Germany native scored another ranked singles win over Rice's No. 101 Rebekka Hanle, and teamed with Emilee Malvehy to win three matches on the week at No. 2 doubles.
Pavelec owns a 17-6 overall singles record this season, including 8-2 at No. 1 singles and 7-4 against ranked opponents, and is on a five-match singles winning streak. She also ranks second on the team with 15 doubles wins.
Deacons in the Rankings
The Demon Deacons made the biggest jump of any team in the country in the most recent ITA rankings, moving up 28 spots to No. 47 in the country after posting wins over No. 75 TCU and No. 56 Rice. It is the highest that the Deacs have been ranked all season.
Martina Pavelec also made a big move after three singles wins last week, including a victory over then No. 19 Nazari Urbina (Texas A&M), jumping to No. 30 in the singles rankings.
Wake's top doubles team of Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert kept their spot in the Top 25, coming in at No. 22 in the doubles rankings.
Talbert and Duncan Keep Rolling
Wake Forest's top doubles team of No. 22 Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert stayed red-hot last week, posting three wins at the top position, including a victory over Texas A&M's ranked duo of No. 69 Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles.
Duncan and Talbert have won their last six matches and have posted a stellar 11-2 record this season, with three wins coming over ranked opponents.
The Ole Doubles Switcharoo
After Wake Forest dropped four straight doubles points earlier in the season, head coach Jeff Wyshner changed his doubles lineup, and it paid off, as the Deacs have now taken the doubles point in all four matches since the switch, with three of them coming against ranked teams.
Wyshner moved Martina Pavelec up to No. 2 doubles to team with Emilee Malvehy, and the duo have posted wins in all four matches together. When combined with Wake's already-strong top team of Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert at the top position, if Pavelec and Malvehy continue their strong play, it will be a challenge for the Deacons' opponents to earn two wins in doubles to take the point.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary holds an 8-7 overall record heading into the weekend. The Tribe have played a challenging schedule featuring 12 ranked teams, with its best win so far coming against No. 58 Missouri.
William & Mary has used its depth in the middle of the lineup to earn the majority of its wins this season. Katie Kargl is tops on the team with nine dual match singles wins, most coming at the No. 5 position. The Tribe do have one ranked doubles team in No. 50 Anik Cepeda and Hope Johnson who have gone 7-8 this season.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina enters today's match ranked No. 3 in the country with an 11-3 record after posting some impressive victories in the non-conference season. Last weekend the Heels took down No. 5 Michigan, and are fresh off of a win over Minnesota.
The Tar Heels have been led in singles by Zoe De Bruycker, who is ranked No. 14 nationally. UNC also boasts one of the best doubles teams in the country in No. 5 Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale, who hold a 21-7 record this season.
What's Next...
The Demon Deacons will host a pair of ACC matches next weekend. Wake will take on No. 15 Clemson on Saturday and defending ACC champions No. 20 Georgia Tech on Sunday. Both matches will be played at noon.
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