TicketsMarch 31, 2007
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati tennis team looks to for victory in its final home match of the season this afternoon against DePaul. The Bearcats enter the match at 8-5, 2-3 in the BIG EAST. The Blue Demons are 9-6, 1-0 BIG EAST this season.
CINCINNATI PROBABLE STARTERS
1. Hannah Hinton, 5-11, Sr., Gainesville, Fla. 15-7 7-4
2. Rachel Owens, 5-9, Fr., Puyallup, Wash. 16-7 8-5
3. Valeriya Dandik, 5-7, So., Montreal, Quebec 11-4 8-3
4. Alizee Paradis, 5-10, Jr., Quebec City, Quebec 7-13 4-9
5. Jenny Rowen, 5-7, So., Little Rock, Ark. 9-9 5-7
6. Elizabeth Young, 5-7, So.., Knoxville, Tenn. 11-7 9-5
Doubles
1. Hannah Hinton/Elizabeth Young 5-2 2-1
2. Rachel Owens/Jenny Rowen 1-3 1-3
3. Valeriya Dandik/Alizee Paradis 4-3 4-3
HOME SWEET HOME INDOORS: Today's match marks the ninth this season for the Bearcats at the Queen City Racquet Club. UC owns a 5-3 record in matches at the indoor facility. Cincinnati dropped last night's match against Syracuse in its only event of the season held at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center.
LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK: The Bearcats enter the match hoping to rebound from a 6-1 setback less than 24 hours ago against Syracuse. Valeriya Dandik was the lone Bearcat to triumph in singles competition against the Orange. The sophomore from Montreal, Quebec owns an 8-3 record in dual matches and 11-4 in singles play overall.
FAST START: Freshman Rachel Owens, the only true freshman on the team, is off to a blazing start. She won her first six matches and currently owns a 16-7 record. She reached the flight D finals at the Hampton Roads Collegiate Invitational and won all three matches at the Miami Invitational. Owens is playing in the top two spots in the lineup and won the clinching match in a tie-breaker at No. 1 singles to earn UC's season-opening win over Bowling Green.
BACK IN FORM: After winning 17 matches as a freshman, including a team-best 13 dual wins, senior Hannah Hinton has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries. She returned to the full-time lineup in the fall and is now 15-7. She posted four wins at Dartmouth's Big Green Invitational to reach the A singles final, beating the No. 3 and No. 8 seeds on the way.
NEWCOMERS LEADING THE WAY: The Bearcats have just two players who have earned more than one letter at UC and just one, senior Hannah Hinton, is in the starting lineup. UC is seeing great results from the last two recruiting classes, starting with freshman Rachel Owens and her 16-6 record. Transfers Valeriya Dandik (Missouri) and Alizee Paradis (Marshall) have claimed starting spots, along with sophomores Elizabeth Young and Jenny Rowen.
MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT: After posting a 1-16 mark last year (and just 5-16 before that), the Bearcats have made a huge turnaround, already winning eight dual matches, including a win over Rutgers for UC's first win over a BIG EAST opponent since joining the league. The Bearcats have won 80 singles matches this year, already 36 more than last year's total. The current 44 dual match singles wins is 29 greater than last year's total. A healthier lineup and consistency at the top have been the big factors. After going 0-17 at No. 1 singles last year, Rachel Owens and Hannah Hinton have gone 9-4 for UC in that spot so far this season.
UP NEXT: The Bearcats travel to Huntington, W.Va. next weekend. On Friday, April 6, UC faces Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. in a key BIG EAST Conference fray. On Saturday, April 7, the Cincinnati tangles with Marshall at 1 p.m.