CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis team competes against Whitworth this Friday (Feb. 26) for its home opener at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse with first serve set to begin at 5 p.m. Pacific time. The Eagles return to play following a victory over Portland last week as they sit with a 1-4 overall record.

"We are excited for our home opener against Whitworth. It's been a full year since our last home match and the team is looking forward to defending our home courts this Friday," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "We are ready to take the momentum we built in our Portland win into this match. We are going into this match with the goals of growing both as a team and as competitors out there on the court."

Last Sunday the Eagles defeated the Portland Pilots 5-2 on the road in a match that saw four Eagles defeat their opponents in singles play.

In doubles play, the pairs of Jennifer Kida and Scout Mathews at No.2 and Louise Waite and Yasmin Mansouri at No.3 aided EWU to a 1-0 lead early in the day.

Along with that, Jennifer Kida, Zoey Nelson, Louise Waite and Yasmin Mansouri all took down their opponents in singles play.

The Eagles have an impressive 18-5 all-time series record versus the Pirates and currently hold a seven-game winning streak with their last defeat dated back to April of 1992. Last season, the Eagles overwhelmed Whitworth to a 7-0 victory at home. In addition, the Pirates have failed to score a single point against EWU in their last five competitions against one another.

After dropping two matches to Lewis-Clark State earlier this month, the Pirates currently sit with an 0-2 overall record.

Whitworth is led by head coach Rachel Aldridge who enters her seventh season at the helm. Aldridge guided the Pirates to an even 4-4 record last season before it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Eagles were scheduled to face Whitman College on Feb. 28 but it has been canceled and will not be rescheduled this season. Instead, EWU faces Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., on March 3 with the match set to begin at 5 p.m. PT.