Mount St. Mary's (1-0) vs. Towson (0-0)
Thursday, October 7, 3:00 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. * MSM Tennis Courts
Mount Update: Mount St. Mary's was rained out against Saint Joseph's on Sept. 29. The squad competed at the George Mason 3/2 Invitational on Sept. 25. The Mount defeated Virginia State, 5-0, while falling to George Mason (0-5) and George Washington (3-2) at the event. The match results do not count against the Mount's team record. Kelly Conroy won both of her singles matches on Saturday to pace the Mountaineers.
About the Tigers: Towson competed in the Tigers Classic on Sept. 17-18 and the Navy Tournament on Sept. 24-26, but Wednesday's match at the Mount marks the first dual match of the year. Nisha Shah leads the team with a 4-0 mark while Ioana Aprodu is 3-2 and Ariel Burke, Beth Daub and Encarni Lizana are 2-2 in singles.
The All-Time Series: Mount St. Mary's has closed the gap against Towson after winning four of the last six matches against the Tigers. Towson leads the all-time series 10-9 since the matchup began in 1988. The Mount edged the Tigers 4-3 last season in Towson while the Tigers last win was a 6-1 decision at the MSM Tennis Courts in 2008.
Last Year's Meeting: Mount St. Mary's Kara Caufield earned a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles complete a rally to a 4-3 win at Towson on Sept. 23, 2009. After dropping all three doubles matches for the doubles point and falling behind 3-0 in the match after the completion of the first two singles matches, the Mount won the final four matchups on the day to earn the win over Towson. Emily Bolchoz won over Andrea Samlin, 7-5, 6-3, at the No. 2 singles position while Kelly Conroy earned a 6-1, 6-4 win over Aandria Carr at the No. 3 spot. At No. 6 singles, Renee Deane outlasted Beth Daub, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 to even the match at 3-3 ahead of Caufield's win at the No. 5 spot in the lineup.
Bolchoz Among Career Leaders: Senior Emily Bolchoz has a career record of 61-26 in singles matches at the Mount, good for the sixth-most singles wins all-time at the Mount. Bolchoz is five singles wins behind Valeria Topol (65-37, 1992-96) and Bronwyn Williams (65-35, 1988-92), who are tied for fourth all-time at MSM. She is also 50-18 all-time in singles dual matches, good for second place behind Chelsea Johnson (64-27, 2006-10).
Record Breakers: The record-breaking doubles tandem of Emily Bolchoz and Renee Deane continues to thrive. The pair is 5-1 so far this season in doubles matches, moving their career record to 24-8 as a team. Last year, the duo broke the school's single-season mark for wins by a doubles team with a 19-7 record. The pair also went 15-6 in dual matches, tying the school's single-season mark in that category.
About Last Year: The Mount's 16 wins last year were the second-best single-season mark in school history. It is also the sixth-straight season the Mount has posted double figures in wins. The Mount earned the No. 5 seed at the NEC Tournament. Emily Bolchoz led the Mountaineers with 19 singles wins in 2009-10 while the doubles pair of Bolchoz and Renee Deane also won 19 times. Deane earned Second Team All-NEC honors at the No. 5 singles spot in the lineup.
Six Years and Counting: The Mount women's tennis team has posted six straight seasons with double-figures in wins. Last year, the Mount went 16-5, marking the second-most wins in a season since the Mount moved to Division I in 1988-89. The Mount has posted a winning record in five of the six seasons while going 10-10 in 2008-09.
Up next: The Mount returns to action on Oct. 17 at home against Delaware State.
