April 8, 2008
The University of Memphis women's tennis team will play its final regular season match at home on Thursday against Central Arkansas, beginning at 2:30 p.m. at Rhodes College. Memphis is 8-12 on the season and 1-3 in Conference USA play. Central Arkansas is 2-12 overall and 0-9 in Southland Conference play.
The Lady Tigers are led by sophomore Ashley Murdock (Memphis, Tenn./St. Agnes). Murdock, who joined the team in January after transferring from LSU, is 14-4 in singles play so far this season, including an 8-4 mark at No. 1. She has won five straight matches heading in to the Thursday meeting with the Bears and is 3-0 against C-USA competition so far this season.
Sophomore Marjorie Ondeck has been one of the Lady Tigers who has benefited immediately from Murdock's addition, as is has allowed Ondeck to drop down in the line-up after spending her entire freshman season at No. 1 singles. Ondeck is now 11-6 in dual season singles play, including a 4-1 mark at No. 2 and a 7-3 mark at No. 3. She is 15-13 on the year in singles, and is teaming with Murdock at No. 1 doubles, where the tandem is 5-6 on the season.
Freshman Lindsey Wiseman (Memphis, Tenn./Briarcrest) and sophomore Dara Toulch are both fighting to get back to the .500 mark for the dual singles season. Wiseman is 8-10 in singles, including a 6-5 mark at No. 4, while Toulch is 6-8 with a 5-5 mark at No. 6.
Memphis is looking to snap a two-match losing streak coming in to the match and is looking to avoid tying a season-high three-match skid from early in the season. The Lady Tigers picked up their last win on Friday against UTEP in league play. That win was the first C-USA regular season victory for Memphis since a Feb. 25, 2005 against former league member Saint Louis.
UCA comes in to the match in just their second year of NCAA Division I membership. The Bears joined the Southland Conference last season and have a young line-up making the transition up to Division I play. The Bears have pulled it together and gone 2-2 in their last four matches after losing 10 straight matches to open the season. UCA defeated Louisiana Tech, 5-2, on Sunday in the second half of a double-header, losing 5-2 to league member Stephen F. Austin in the first match of the day.
Sophomore Petra Keilova is the Bears' lone international player, and has played all the matches at No. 1 singles for UCA, sporting a 1-12 mark coming in to Thursday's match. Junior Rebecca Miller has played a majority of the matches at No. 2, with a 2-11 mark, while both Lisa Mainz, a freshman, and Heidi Miller, a junior, have played matches at No. 3. Mainz is still winless at No. 3, but is 3-5 at No. 4, while Miller is 1-7 at No. 3 and 0-4 at No. 4.
The match with the Bears will be the final regular season match for Memphis. The Lady Tigers will then have almost a full week off before participating in the Conference USA Championships, Apr. 17-20th at the University of Houston.
