CHENEY, Wash. – Following a dominant performance last weekend, the Eastern Washington University women's tennis squad looks to host Big Sky Conference opponents Southern Utah and Weber State this Friday and Saturday (Mar. 6-7) at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. Friday's match begins at 2 p.m. Pacific time while Saturday's match begins at 10 a.m. PT.

The Eagles stand on top of the Big Sky with an unbeaten 3-0 record while Northern Arizona trails close behind with a 2-0 conference record.

"We expect conference matches to get tougher and tougher as the season goes on. We are motivated to continue to improve and build on our strong start," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "There is a long way to go so we are working to stay motivated and focused for each upcoming match. I expect that we will give all we have this weekend as we continue to defend our home court."

According to the conference preseason poll voted on by the coaches, Weber State is tabbed to finish second while EWU was selected to finish in fourth-place. Southern Utah rounds out the bottom of the poll as they were chosen to finish in eighth-place.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: SOUTHERN UTAH

EWU has an overall series record of 4-4 against SUU and a one-match losing streak. Friday is a rematch of last year's conference tournament quarterfinals match as the Eagles look to avenge the Thunderbirds after getting knocked out 4-3 last season.

Southern Utah currently holds a 2-8 overall record and are 0-1 in the Big Sky after falling to Portland State. The Thunderbirds are led by head coach Michael Mucci who enters his first season at the helm, with freshman Paula Tascon leading the team in singles play with a 3-4 overall record.

The Thunderbirds are sitting with a one-match losing streak as they are currently in ninth-place in the conference, ahead of Montana and Idaho State.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: WEBER STATE

Eastern has a 6-15 overall series record versus Weber State. The Wildcats knocked the Eagles out of the conference championship in 2018 and defeated the Eagles 4-3 last season as they have a two-match losing streak against Weber State.  

Weber State is currently 6-3 overall and have yet to face a Big Sky opponent. The squad faces Idaho on Friday (Mar. 6) before competing against the Eagles on Saturday (Mar. 7).

The Wildcats are steered by first-year head coach RuthAnn Allen with senior Caitlin Herb leading the team with a 7-2 overall record in singles play.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Eagles travel to Laramie, Wyo., next Friday (Mar. 13) to face Wyoming at 2 p.m. PT, and then hits the road for conference play in Greeley, Colo., against Northern Colorado on Sunday (Mar. 15) at 3 p.m. PT.