CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis team gears up for a weekend home and road split as they look to host Whitworth this Friday (Jan. 31) and then hit the road to face Gonzaga the next day (Feb. 1). EWU's match versus the Pirates begins at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse while Saturday's match is in Spokane, Wash., set to begin at 4 p.m. PT.

There will be no live scoring for the Whitworth match, but live video and scoring are available for Saturday's match at Gonzaga, HERE.

"The team has been training hard over the last couple of weeks since our opening matches in Seattle. We are all very excited to face two great regional tennis programs this weekend. We expect our home opener to be competitive and we are looking forward to defending our home court," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "Facing Gonzaga on the road is always a challenge but we love the opportunity to seek and rise to the challenge. I expect that my team will bring the same effort and intensity to each match. At the end of the day, we have to keep building as players and as a team and we will look to continue with that focus this weekend."

The Eagles are 1-1 to begin the regular season after defeating Seattle University 5-2 and falling short to Washington earlier this month.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: WHITWORTH

The Eagles have an overall series record of 12-3 versus Whitworth and a six-match winning streak, defeating the Pirates 7-0 in their last four competitions. EWU's last loss to the Pirates dates back to April of 1992.

Whitworth has yet to play a match in 2020, but are 0-2 after falling to Whitman and UC Santa Cruz back in October. They are led by head coach Rachel Aldridge who enters her sixth year at the helm and led her team to a 9-7 overall record last season.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: GONZAGA

The Eagles have a 19-42 all-time series record versus Gonzaga and currently have a 13-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. EWU's last win over GU dates back to February of 2008 where the Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 5-2 in Spokane, Wash.

During the fall leading up to the 2020 spring season, Gonzaga competed in the Cal Fall Invite, Cougar Classic, ITA Northwest Regional Championships and the Gonzaga Invite. The Bulldogs are currently 1-3 after defeating Colorado State and losing to Denver, Loyola Marymount and Minnesota. GU looks to face Idaho on Saturday morning before competing against the Eagles in the evening.

Gonzaga is led by head coach D.J. Gurule who enters his 15th season at the helm. Last season, Gurule brought his team to the West Coast Conference Championship match where they fell short to No. 6-ranked Pepperdine 4-1.

WHATS NEXT

Following the weekend matches, the Eagles will prepare for Washington State as they travel to Pullman, Wash., on Feb. 8 for a 6 p.m. PT match play.