Tennis Lifts Lid on 2020 Facing Army, Akron

// FIRST SERVE
The University of Cincinnati tennis team returns to the courts this weekend as the Bearcats will open their 2020 dual slate in Akron, Ohio, where they will face the Army Black Knights and the Akron Zips inside the Latuchie Tennis Center on the UA campus. UC opens the weekend Saturday at 9 a.m. with a neutral site meeting with Army before coming back Sunday at noon to face the host Zips. The duals will be the first two of three in a short four-day span as the Bearcats also will venture to Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon to face the Wildcats in Lexington at 5 p.m. (Jan. 21).

// FOLLOW US
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// QUICK SERVES
• Saturday marks just the second time in six seasons under Head Coach Eric Toth that Cincinnati has opened its dual season away from Cincinnati
• It also marks the first neutral-site match to open the season under Toth
• Senior Caroline Morton has won 64 singles matches in her career, leaving her one shy of tying for the #9 position in program history (her 116 combined wins already ranks #10)
• Toth enters the weekend with 60 dual wins in his five seasons at Cincinnati, leaving him nine shy of moving into the #3 position for all-time coaching wins at UC

// RESULTS
Results from all matches will posted on GoBearcats.com following the conclusion of play each day. Periodic updates also will be available on the team's Twitter account (@GoBearcatsWTEN). Live Results will be available for Tuesday's match at Kentucky on the UK website (UKAthletics.com).

// LIFTING THE LID
Under Eric Toth, the Bearcats are 3-2 in their first dual of the spring season and will look to make it two in a row after opening the season with a 7-0 home victory over visiting Butler last year. In the same time frame, UC is 4-1 in its first neutral-site match of the season and 2-3 in its first road contest of the year. Last year, the Bearcats' first road dual was a 4-3 setback at Indiana while their first neutral-site match was them defeat Marshall, 4-1, in a dual played at Memphis.

// SCOUTING: ARMY
The Black Knights posted a 22-8 overall record last year and were 5-2 in Patriot League duals as well. Army ran the table in the Patriot League Tournament, including a 4-0 win over Lehigh in the quarterfinals, a 4-2 win over Navy in the semifinals and a 4-3 upset of top-seeded Boston University in the final. With that win, Army earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament where they fell in the opening round, 4-0, at #10 Washington. From that NCAA dual, seven of the team's nine players return this year, including junior Ana Joyner at #1 singles, the two-time Patriot League Player of the Year and 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

// SCOUTING: AKRON
Similar to Army, Akron is coming off a strong showing in 2019 as the Zips posted a 21-6 record overall and were 5-2 in the MAC. UA earned the #2 seed in the MAC Tournament in Buffalo and won its semifinal match, 4-0, over host Buffalo before falling to top-seeded Miami (Ohio), 4-3, in the championship final to end the season. Claudia Cecilia Rosas Garcia, one of the four returning singles players from the MAC Tournament last year, leads the way through the fall with a 9-2 singles record and an overall 16-6 record after going 7-4 in doubles as well.

// TAKING ON OHIO
In the five years Toth has guided the program, his Bearcats hold a 16-8 overall record Ohio schools. After starting 3-6 in his first two seasons, Cincinnati has gone 13-2 over the past three years against the Buckeye State, starting with an 8-0 run after going 5-0 in 2016-17 and 4-1 in 2017-18. Last year, UC won its first four intrastate meetings before falling at Xavier, 4-3.

// SCOUTING: KENTUCKY
The Wildcats posted a 19-9 overall record in 2018-19 and were 7-6 in the SEC. Holders of a 12-2 home record last year, Kentucky advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas, were they fell to Vanderbilt, 4-0. Despite the early exit, UK was selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament where it went 1-1 in the Ann Arbor Region, downing DePaul, 4-1, in the opening round before being bounced by host Michigan, 4-0, in the second round. In the final fall ITA rankings, Lesedi Jacobs is #59 in singles and teams with Akvile Parazinskaite to rank #21.

// MORTON CLOSING IN
With one win in singles and one in doubles during the fall, Caroline Morton enters the spring with 64 career singles victories, 52 in doubles and 116 combined wins. Overall, she is currently ranked #10 in combined wins in a career while her singles total has her sitting at #11, one shy of tying both Karen Kippley (1991-94) and Mary Spencer (1989-92) for #9. Her 52 wins in doubles action has her two shy of joining the all-time Top 10 as well where Samantha Liu (2002-05), Khushchehr Italia (2000-03) and Ashley Heiman (1986-89) all sit in a tie for #9 with 54 victories in their careers.

// IT'S ACADEMIC
The UC Athletics Department has continued to shine academically with the tennis team being toward the top of the list annually. During the 2018-19 academic year, the team amassed a cumulative GPA of 3.727 as nine players earned recognition from the league as AAC All-Academic. The team also was honored with the AAC Team Academic Excellence Award which is given annually to the team with the highest GPA in the league in each sport. The tennis program was one of five UC programs to have the highest GPA in their respective sport for the 2018-19 academic year. Earlier this month, the grades were released for the Fall 2019 semester with tennis once again leading the charge at UC with its 3.796 GPA the best among all women's teams and second overall behind only men's cross country and their 3.829.

// NEXT TIME OUT
Following three road matches in four days to open the season, the Bearcats will have 10 days to prepare for the next contest as they will play host to Miami (Ohio) on January 31 inside the Western Tennis & Fitness Center in Cincinnati. The dual is slated to begin at 5 p.m. and admission is free for all fans.