GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's tennis team has earned the top seed in the South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament and will face Carson-Newman University in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, April 20 at 9 a.m. at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
The Pioneers (15-5, 11-1 SAC) shared the SAC Championship with Wingate but earned the top seed through their 4-3 win over the Bulldogs on April 11. Tusculum's championship was its seventh SAC title in program history, and the Pioneers will be seeking their fourth tournament championship (2004, 2014, 2017).
Thursday's winner advances to the semifinals on Friday, April 21 at 9 a.m. against the winner of the match between fourth-seeded Anderson and fifth-seeded Catawba. The championship match will be played Saturday, April 22, also at 9 a.m. at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
The Pioneers were seeded fifth in last year's tournament and were eliminated 4-0 by Newberry in the quarterfinal round. Five of the six players who started in singles for the Pioneers in last year's SAC Tournament will be in the lineup for Thursday's quarterfinal against Carson-Newman, which lost 4-3 to Wingate in last year's semifinals.
Tusculum defeated Carson-Newman 4-3 during the regular season, and the Eagles (4-13, 4-8 SAC) will be at a disadvantage as they only have five available players, which will result in an automatic forfeit loss at number six singles.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sophomore Leonie Floeth (Toenisvorst, Germany) has played number-one singles for the Pioneers for the entire season and has a 17-10 overall record, a 12-8 mark in dual matches and an 8-3 record in conference play. Floeth enters the SAC Tournament on a four-match winning streak and is the reigning SAC Player of the Week after going 3-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles last week for the Pioneers.
Sophomore Tabitha Howe (Sevenoaks, England) brings a 14-12 record into the lineup at number-two singles, where she has gone 11-6 this season as part of a 13-7 mark in dual matches. Howe, who is 9-3 in SAC competition for the Pioneers, is 2-1 in three-set matches this season.
Junior Paulina Loretz (San Mateo Atenco, Mexico) has played the bulk of her singles schedule at flight three, where she is 7-7 this season as part of a 12-7 record in dual matches. Loretz is 17-9 overall this season and has 45 career singles victories for the Pioneers, and has posted a 7-1 record in set tiebreakers this season.
Sophomore Elodie Baechler (La Rippe, Switzerland) has seen action at flights two through six for the Pioneers, and is 7-3 at flight four. Baechler, who is 13-7 in dual matches and 7-4 in conference play as part of her 15-8 overall record, has 11 wins in straight sets this season.
Junior Valentina Loretz (San Mateo Atenco, Mexico) leads the Pioneers in singles victories with a 21-7 record and has a team-best 14-6 record in dual matches. Loretz is 9-3 in SAC competition with a 6-3 mark at flight five, which includes a 3-2 record in pro sets.
Freshman Ylva Frafjord Landa (Sandnes, Norway) is not expected to play singles against the five-player Carson-Newman lineup, but will enter the SAC Tournament with a 16-9 overall record and a 13-6 dual match record, with an 8-2 mark in conference play.
In doubles, the team of Howe and Paulina Loretz went 6-3 in SAC play at flight one, while the duo of Baechler and Valentina Loretz has a 12-2 record with 10 consecutive victories at flight two. At flight three, Floeth and Landa have gone 14-6 as a team which includes a 5-0 record at flight three.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Anita Chornei has played number-one singles for the Eagles and has an 8-9 overall record with a 4-8 mark in conference play, while Natasha Forrest has gone 10-4 at flight two, 9-3 in league play and 12-5 overall.
At flight three, Summer Reeves is 10-7 overall and 9-3 in conference, with a 7-4 mark at flight three, and Julia Spieser is 5-12 overall and 4-8 in the SAC with a 3-6 record at flight four. Mollie Edge has played at flight five, where she is 8-5 and 6-4 in conference action.
The Eagles' doubles pairings entering the SAC Tournament have Reeves and Edge playing at flight one, where they are 2-1 this season and 6-4 overall. Spieser and Forrest have moved to flight two and won each of their three matches as part of a 9-2 overall record together.
SERIES HISTORY
The Pioneers have a 22-8 lead over the Eagles in the all-time series, and are 3-0 all-time in the SAC Tournament. Tusculum defeated Carson-Newman in quarterfinal matches in 2000 and 2018, and the Pioneers beat the Eagles 5-1 in the 2008 championship match.
SAC TOURNAMENT
The 2023 South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Championship will be played at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C. beginning with quarterfinals on Thursday, followed by semifinals on Friday and finals on Saturday.
The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
Thursday, April 20 (quarterfinals)
Match 1: #8 Carson-Newman vs. #1 Tusculum, 9 a.m.
Match 2: #5 Catawba vs. #4 Anderson, 9 a.m.
Match 3: #7 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #2 Wingate, 9 a.m.
Match 4: #6 Limestone vs. #3 Newberry, 9 a.m.
Friday, April 21 (semifinals)
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 9 a.m.
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 22 (finals)
Match 7: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 9 a.m.
