FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University women's tennis team will open up spring play on Friday against St. John's. The match will start at noon and be held at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.
This year's team features just one upperclassman, junior Karen McKeough, who will captain the young squad during this 2016 spring campaign. Under her leadership will be three freshman and three sophomores looking to gain valuable playing experience. All members of the team will see significant playing time and will have to learn on the job. But this is all positive for the team as it will be a tremendous learning experience as explained by Head Coach Jeff Bricker.
Among the goals this season, “obviously making the MAAC Tournament is our main goal,” said Coach Bricker. “Beyond that, each athlete has their own small individual goals that they will focus on throughout the season.”
Looking at their schedule, “I put together a difficult schedule for the team to get ready for the MAAC. It is such a strong conference each and every year and I wanted the team to play strong out of the gate to get ready for the MAAC opponents,” said Bricker. Along with a multitude of regional opponents, the Stags will take a trip to North Carolina to face Gardner-Webb on March 7 and UNC at Greensboro on March 8. The travel down south will be a warm welcome for the team as they will most likely be their first outdoor matches of the spring. Fairfield will also host two matches at the Walsh Athletic Center Tennis Courts against Saint Peter's on April 2 and against Quinnipiac on April 19. (Full schedule here)
Last season, the Stags finished with an overall record of 7-8, with a 6-2 record in MAAC play. Fairfield was the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Championship, but fell to No. 2 Niagara in the first round, 4-0. The team will be looking to get back to the MAAC Tournament as one of the top four teams in the league. The MAAC Championships will begin on April 30, with the winner clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
On Friday, they will be facing a tough St. John's team that swept Fairfield, 7-0, last January. The Red Storm fell in the Big East Championship Final to DePaul, 4-0, last season. Already this year they topped USF, 4-3, on January 19. The team is under the direction of first year head coach Laruen Leo and led on the court by No. 1 singles player Natallia Vavulina. The junior from Belarus earned a three set victory over USF's Olga Martinez to help complete the comeback in their first win.
After Friday's match against St. John's the team will be back to competition on February 6, against Seton Hall.
