The Northern Kentucky University women’s tennis team will enter postseason play for the first time since making the transition to Division I, playing in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship this weekend, hosted at the UNF Tennis Complex in Jacksonville, Florida.
NKU enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed after posting a 6-15 overall record and a 1-5 mark in A-Sun play during the regular season. The Norse will take on No. 4 seed Lipscomb in the opening round on Friday. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m. The winner of that match will advance to a semifinal matchup against top seed North Florida on Saturday.
The Northern Kentucky University men’s tennis team will also try to make history this weekend as the Norse compete in their first Atlantic Sun Conference Championship at the UNF Tennis Complex, also in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Norse enter the event as the No. 6 seed after defeating Lipscomb, 5-2, in a must-win match to conclude conference play. NKU will take on the No. 3 seed USC Upstate in the opening round, with first serve set for Friday at 2:30 p.m. The winner of that match will move on to the semifinals to take on the No. 2 seed North Florida.
Fans can follow the team’s progress in the A-Sun Championship by following @NKUNorse and @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter. In addition to match updates, fans can interact with the team through behind-the-scenes video streams through the Periscope app.
Sydney Power is the women’s team’s wins leader in singles play, picking up eight victories over the course of the season. Three other players added seven wins on the season in a balanced Norse lineup. In doubles play, NKU’s most regular pairing has been its most successful, as Danielle Donahue and Hailey Shanahan have put up six wins playing primarily in the top doubles flight.
NKU opened A-Sun play with a 5-0 loss to North Florida on March 20. The Ospreys took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, while four singles victories closed out the North Florida win.
NKU’s men’s team is 7-12 on the year with still a match to play as Wednesday’s match at Xavier was suspended after NKU claimed the doubles point. That match will conclude on April 21.
Christopher Angulo leads the Norse in singles play at 13-9 on the year, primarily in the second flight, including three against A-Sun opposition. Mate Virag is NKU’s top-flight player, boasting seven wins on the season. In doubles action, the team of Virag and Jody Maginley are 4-5 on the season, standing as NKU’s most successful tandem.
North Florida, then the No. 69 team in the nation, claimed a 7-0 win over the Norse on March 20. Adrian Isache forced a third-set super tiebreaker against Julian Bradly, UNF’s wins leader in singles, but dropped the result, 10-2, at No. 4. Jody Maginley forced a first-set tiebreaker against Yannick Zuern at No. 3, but lost a 7-6, 6-3 match.
From NKU Athletics