MATCH CENTRAL
No. 2 Embry-Riddle vs. Ave Maria
DATE: Sunday, February 1, 2015
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: Crotty Tennis Complex
TIME:12 p.m.
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SERIES: ERAU leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: ERAU Won 9-0 (April 5, 2014)

FIRST SERVE
• Embry-Riddle is beginning its 16th season of competition
• Huang and Paula Ortiz Couder are ranked third in the ITA/NAIA national doubles poll.
• Head Coach Dave Paschal is in his 11th season as the Eagles' head coach.
• Embry-Riddle and Ave Maria are meeting in women's tennis for the fifth time

ABOUT THE EAGLES
The Embry-Riddle women's tennis team opens the season at second-ranked team in the NAIA. Last season, the Blue and Gold went undefeated in conference play at 7-0 on the way to The Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles. Seeded fifth in the NAIA National Tournament field, the Eagles registered upsets of three-time national champion Auburn Montgomery and top seed Xavier (La.) on the way to a spot in the title match where they were edged 5-4 by Georgia Gwinnett. Ranked second in the NAIA Postseason National Coaches' Poll, the Eagles ended the season at 18-6 overall.
 
The Eagles return five players, including junior Hui-I Huang and sophomore Paula Ortiz Couder, who partnered to win the 2014 USTA/ITA Florida Regional title and finished third at the ITA/NAIA National Championship. Huang and Ortiz Couder are ranked third nationally in doubles. Huang is also listed in the singles poll at No. 13 along with sophomore Anna Gotz who is ranked 25th.

ABOUT THE GYRENES
Curtis Allen is in his first season as the Lady Gyrenes Head Coach. Ave Maria returns two student-athletes from last season's 1-9 squad that finished seventh in the league standings in 2014. The Lady Gyrenes open their 2015 campaign at SCAD Savannah on Saturday.

THE ERAU-AMU SERIES
The Eagles and the Lady Gyrenes have faced each other in women's tennis four times. All four meetngs have been won by the Eagles.

The Last Meeting
The sixth-ranked Embry-Riddle women's tennis team got its 10th win of the 2014 season courtesy of a 9-0 decision against Ave Maria (1-8, 1-6) on April 5.

Paula Ortiz Couder and Eva Vilar got things started with an 8-0 win over Gladys Chaparro and Emily Buxton at No. 3 doubles, and Kristina Marova and Hui-I Huang bested Mary Kate Lee and Lexi Hammerquist by the same margin at the top spot to put the Eagles up 2-0. Paola Montero and Anna Götz closed out doubles play with an 8-1 win over Eileen Lee and Jessica Cocks at No. 2 to extend the Eagle lead to 3-0 heading into singles.

Singles play saw the ERAU women drop just five games combined in the six singles contests. Huang, Marova, Ortiz Couder and Meena Bennett registered shutouts at the first, third, fifth and sixth positions, respectively, while Götz topped Hammerquist 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 and Vilar downed Cocks 6-0, 6-1 on court four.

BY THE NUMBERS
237 - All-time wins in ERAU Women's Tennis history
154 - Eagle victories under guidance of Head Coach Dave Paschal
42 - Conference wins in program history
11 - Seasons of competition with Dave Paschal at the helm
14 - NAIA National Tournament appearances
5 - Regular season conference championships
3 – Conference tournament titles
2 - The Eagles' current national ranking

EAGLES IN THE RANKINGS
The Eagles are ranked second in the NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 poll, marking the seventh consecutive season that ERAU Women's Tennis is ranked among the nation's top 10 in the preseason ratings. Two ERAU student-athletes are featured in the ITA/NAIA singles rankings as junior Hui-I Huang is ranked 13 and sophomore Anna Gotz is ranked 29th. Huang and Paula Ortiz Couder are ranked No. 3 in the national doubles poll.