Antoine Daugny

Eagles Return to League Play with Road Trip to Webber International

4/2/2014 1:18:00 PM

Paula Ortiz Couder (left) and Paola Montero (right)

EMBRY-RIDDLE

(7-5) RANK: 6th

(0-17) RANK: NR

MATCH CENTRAL
No. 6 Embry-Riddle vs. Webber International
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 2014
SITE: Babson Park, Fla.
TIME: 1 p.m.
SERIES: ERAU leads 18-0
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. WIU, 9-0 on April 3, 2013

FIRST SERVE
• Embry-Riddle Women's Tennis is in its 15th season of competition
• Dave Paschal is in his 10th season as the Eagles' head coach
• Embry-Riddle has moved up to the No. 6 spot in the NAIA National Coaches' Poll

THE EAGLES
Embry-Riddle is ranked sixth in the NAIA National Coaches' poll for the second straight ranking. The Eagles are 7-5 overall and have a 2-0 ledger in Sun Conference play with victories against Northwood and St. Thomas. ERAU is undefeated against NAIA teams and three of their five losses have been to top-10 NCAA II teams.

Freshman Paula Ortiz Couder continues to lead in the Eagles in singles wins 12 victories in her first season wearing the Blue and Gold. Hui-I Huang and Kristina Marova are 16-5 on the year as the top-ranked doubles team in the NAIA.

WEBBER INTERNATIONAL
The Warriors are 0-17 on the year, including a 0-7 mark in conference play. Their last time out saw WIU fall to Northwood, 8-1.

THE ERAU-WIU SERIES
Tuesday's contest marks the 19th meeting between the Embry-Riddle and Webber International women's tennis teams. The Eagles have won each of the last 18 match-ups, including a 9-0 shutout of the Warriors on April 3, 2013.

The Last Meeting
The eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle women's tennis team notched its fifth conference win of the season, courtesy of a 9-0 shutout of Webber International in Sun Conference action on April 3, 2013. The ERAU women gained an early advantage over their opponents who were forced to default two singles and one doubles match. The coaches of both programs then elected to play the singles contests first, instead of the traditional doubles-first format and the Eagles quickly built on their advantage by sweeping the remaining four singles points.

First off the court for the Blue and Gold was the Eagles' No. 4 singles player Giovanna Tomiotto who defeated Chandler Reed 6-0, 6-0. Next to her, on court three, teammate Paola Montero notched a 6-1, 6-2 win over Nathalia Chaddad and Hui-I Huang followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over former Eagle player Julija Stojkovska at No. 1.

The last singles match to be completed was at No. 2 where Kristina Marova rebounded from a 6-3 loss in the first set to win the second 6-3 and the third 14-12 to secure the singles sweep.

Doubles play saw the Eagles' tandem of Tomiotto and Montero dispatch Chaddad and Reed 8-1 at No. 2 and Marova and Huang closed out the day with a 8-0 defeat of Stojkovska and Nowak at the top spot.

Next off the court was Tomiotto, whose 6-2, 6-3 decision against Stambaugh extended the Eagle lead to 6-0. Bennett engaged in the only three-setter of the day, pulling out a 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 win over Klock at No. 6. Gonzalez-Hoy followed with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Ramos at the fifth position and Huang secured the Eagles' third shutout of the year with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Arango at No. 1 singles.

BY THE NUMBERS
226 - All-time wins in ERAU Women's Tennis history
143 - Eagle victories under guidance of Head Coach Dave Paschal
68 - Conference wins in program history
13 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
10 - Seasons of competition with Dave Paschal at the helm
10 - Regular season conference championships
7 – The Eagles' current national ranking
4 – Conference regular season titles
2 – Individual doubles national titles

EAGLES IN THE RANKINGS
The Eagles are ranked sixth in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 poll, marking the sixth consecutive season that ERAU Women's Tennis is ranked among the nation's top 10. Three ERAU student-athletes are featured in the ITA/NAIA singles rankings as sophomore Hui-I Huang is ranked 17th, freshman Anna Götz is ranked 20th and senior Kristina Marova is ranked 37th. Huang and Marova are ranked No. 1 in the national doubles poll.

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