The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Play First Dual Match Saturday At Alabama
1/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 22, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's tennis team opens its 2010 spring campaign Saturday when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the 25th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
The teams will meet Saturday at 10 a.m. CT at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium in the first dual match of the year for both squads. Alabama will also play Southern Miss later in the afternoon.
The match will mark the first action for UAB since closing the fall season in October at the ITA South Regionals.
"We're excited to get the spring season started," UAB second-year head coach Krissy Hall said. "It's a great opportunity for us to play the No. 25 team in the country and see where we're at in the early part of the season."
UAB returns six players who saw significant action in the 2009 spring season, including Evelien Strijker, a two-time third-team all-conference selection. The junior has owned the top singles position for the Blazers in each of her first two years.
Strijker is part of a four-member junior class that provides a solid core for the Blazers. She is joined by juniors Giorgia Romeo, Jenny Cape and Brittany DeFelice. Sophomore Paula Alvarez and senior Ceylan Engin round out the returners.
The Blazers also feature a quartet of freshmen in Richole Berger, Rachel Cohen, Krista Cole and Menanteau Moolman. Moolman joined the program this semester, while the other three competed for UAB during the fall.
UAB is coming off a 6-9 record last spring in Hall's first season as head coach. Saturday's contest kicks off a 21-match spring slate for the Blazers, who will then play three straight in Birmingham.
