Women’s Tennis Opens Season at (RV) Wake Forest

Monday, January 16

Winston-Salem, NC - Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center

10:00 AM

College of Charleston

Wake Forest

Photo by: CofCSports.com

1/15/2017 7:55:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Live Scoring

By: Chris Chandler, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team closed out the Fall season with a strong showing at the CofC Classic last November, and now they'll look to parlay that into another successful spring slate which begins Monday with a road-showdown with (RV) Wake Forest at 10 a.m.

The Cougars went 16-12 overall last season, and very nearly broke things wide open in the CAA Tournament when they faced No. 36 William & Mary in the semifinal round. The College won all three of the top singles flights behind Liza Fieldsend, Katherine Schofield and Brooke McAmis' wins, but the Tribe escaped with the 4-3 win, eventually winning the tournament and earning themselves an NCAA postseason berth.

"Last year's team was great and worked very hard, and with some people being a little banged up, it'll take a while to see how we compare this year," Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. "I like the work ethic I'm seeing so far, the ladies have come out very motivated, but it's definitely going to be a building process."

Schofield and McAmis both depart the team after graduating over the summer, meaning the Cougars will have to find a way to move on without their No. 2 and No. 3 singles players, who combined to go 29-19 last year. Not only that, Schofield's departure created a vacancy in the Cougars' top doubles pairing, a significant blow given that Schofield and Mara Argyriou combined to go 18-6.

The College added three newcomers in the offseason in Christi Woodson, Turner Yates and Anastasia Palaska. Woodson, a transfer from Oregon University, will contribute toward the top of the CofC rotation right away, figuring to see action in the upper flights of both singles and doubles play. Palaska, a freshman out of Greece, will continue to make the transition to the college game, while Yates, a transfer from Missouri, will start the year focused on recovering from a lower body injury.

"I'm excited to see what this new group brings to the table," Anastopoulo said. "I expect Christi to play up toward the top of our rotation, and when she's healthy, Turner has a gave that's pretty similar to Caroline Newman, who's one of the best players we've ever had. Last but not least, Anastasia is one of the best players coming out of Greece, and she showed a great improvement from the beginning to the end of the fall season. The key for all of them will be seeing if they can hold up physically through the season, because if they can, I think we have the chance to be really good."

The Cougars return six players from last year's roster, and will once again be led by Top Flight singles player Liza Fieldsend, who enters her senior season. Fieldsend went 16-9 in singles play last year, and spent the fall participating in some of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. She is joined by fellow senior Mara Argyriou and junior Helena Nyikos, both of whom made significant leaps in 2016. In addition to her banner performance in top flight doubles, Argyriou submitted an identical singles record by going 18-6 primarily in the fourth flight. Nyikos meanwhile was extremely effective in the No. 5 spot, delivering a sterling 17-5 record in singles play.

"Our system has worked well for all of those players," Anastopoulo said. "Liza is hands-down the hardest hitter we've ever had, and we're just working with her to help come up with a Plan B and a Plan C on the days when she's a little off her game. Last year, Helena was our most improved player and Mara was our MVP, and they've both been great examples on and off the court for their teammates. We're expecting all of them to keep doing what they've been doing all along, keep pushing to get better and coming ready to put work in day-in, day-out."

In addition, the Cougars return juniors Rachel McNeely and Sarah Jane Jones, as well as sophomore Sarah Zschunke. After a promising start to the season, McNeely was forced to miss the majority of the year with illness, and the College will look forward to bringing back a healthy version of her. Jones and Zschunke meanwhile provided the Cougars with depth in the lower flights of both singles and doubles play. Both have proven themselves capable performers when called upon.

The Cougars have historically had a difficult time against Wake Forest, having gone 0-6 in a series that dates back to 2002. The Demon Deacons have two players who are ranked individually, with Kimmy Guerin garnering a No. 33 nod and Emma Davis earning No. 61 distinction. The match is slated to be played at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.