Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks open fall tennis season in N.Y.
9/16/2010 8:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's tennis team is set to kick-off its fall schedule this weekend at the Stony Brook Classic in New York. The event is the first of four fall events for the Mountain Hawks including two events that Lehigh will host in October. Head coach Dave Shook returns for his 15th season guiding Lehigh's women and has an eight player roster that will look to improve on last year's 4-14 finish.
“I'm looking forward to our upperclass players stepping up and solidifying our team,” Shook said. “We have a senior, a junior and two sophomores who will anchor our lineup. We have two freshmen who are very good players that should contribute immediately and with two other freshmen we have some solid depth.”
The lone senior on the Lehigh roster is Kiera Murasko-Blank who should step into a larger role after playing at the bottom of the singles lineup and in doubles last season. The Mountain Hawks also return junior Liz Piscitelli, who has gained significant experience by playing first doubles and also representing Lehigh at the top three singles flights in her career.
Shook also returns a pair of sophomores in Patricia Muething and Abbey Perl. Muething played fourth singles and second doubles last season and tied for the team lead in singles victories with six, while Perl saw most of her action in doubles, where she and Murasko-Blank teamed to win six matches.
In addition, Shook welcomes four freshmen who should see their first college action this weekend. Jenai Bilimoria comes to Lehigh from India by way of high school in Spain, while Taylor Hampshire is an accomplished junior player from New Trier High School in Illinois. Two Pennsylvania products, Kathleen Larkin from Germantown Academy and Jill Sloand from nearby Saucon Valley high school round out the freshman class.
“With four freshmen, we've added some nice depth,” Shook said. “We've looked good in practice. Our team has shown a strong work ethic. Things are looking positive as we move towards the fall opener.”
After this weekend's action on Long Island, Lehigh will play at the Eastern Tennis Championships at West Point, N.Y. next weekend and the Mountain Hawks will host the Lehigh Invitational on October 2 and 3 and the Lehigh Fall Tennis Championships October 16 and 17.
Action at the Stony Brook Classic begins Friday at 1 p.m. and continues Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. on the Stony Brook Tennis Courts.
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