Cheney, Wash. - The Big Sky Championship is upon the Eastern Washington University women's tennis team, as it travels for its first round matchup against Idaho on Friday, April 29, starting at 10 a.m. PST.
The tournament will take place in Gold River, Calif., and is Eastern's first appearance in the event since 2009.
EWU ended the season 12-10 and 6-5 in league play, good for sixth place in the Big Sky standings. This is the first time since the adoption of the round-robin format in 2004 that Eastern has won six league matches in a single season.
"We are very excited to be heading down to Sacramento this week for the BSC Championships," said EWU head coach Dustin Hinson. "We have had some great practices in preparation for the event and we are going in with a lot of confidence."
Six teams will be featured in the conference tournament, with Northern Arizona (10-1 Big Sky) and Sacramento State (10-1 Big Sky) earning first round byes. The Eagles clinched their way into the competition with a regular season finale against Montana, beating the Grizzlies 5-2 on the road.
Worrall leads the team in singles duals, finishing with a 14-7 record, including a 7-4 mark in conference. Having played primarily out of the No. 6 position, she has worked her way into the No. 3 spot recently. Primarily out of the No. 1 spot, sophomore Janaya Smith finished 9-12 in duals. Around Smith's mark is sophomore Rachel Swindell with a 9-13 record, and senior Moira Hedberg at 8-13 and 6-5 in conference.
The pairing of junior Katrina Domingo and junior Dani Young, and the tandem of Smith and Worrall both lead the team with 10 doubles wins. Smith and Worrall ended the season on a hot-streak, winning seven of their last 10. They are also 7-2 in conference.
"I am very proud of this group of athletes because of their excellent work ethic and great attitudes," Hinson said. "Our mindset hasn't changed and we know we need to approach our upcoming matches like we have all season: with full effort, positive intensity, and focused energy."
EWU fell to Idaho earlier in the season back on April 1 by a score of 6-1. Smith earned the Eagles' sole point, defeating Rita Bermudez 6-4, 6-1. Worrall battled in the longest match of the competition, going three sets against Celine Koets. She eventually lost 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 10-1. Despite the large margin, Eastern was only a few set points away from securing the doubles point in the competition.
The Vandals have three major players to look out for in the upcoming matchup. Leading the team from the No. 1 position is freshman Marianna Petrei, owning a dominant record of 20-2 in singles. She remains an undefeated 11-0 in conference duals. At the back end of Idaho's lineup is senior Belen Barcenilla and sophomore Lucia Badillos. Barcenilla went 18-6 (10-1 BSC) in singles and is currently on a 12-match winning streak. Badillos finished 14-5 (9-1 BSC), with a current winning streak of nine matches.
