Wildcats Open SoCon W. Tennis Tournament vs. CofC

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson will be seeking its first Southern Conference Title when the Wildcats open up the women's tennis tournament with a matchup against No. 1-seeded College of Charleston on Saturday in Charleston, S.C.

Davidson (15-7, 7-3 SoCon), winners of three of its last four matches to close out the regular season and seven of the last nine overall, will square off against top-seed College of Charleston (18-9, 10-0 SoCon) on Saturday, Apr. 24 at 1 p.m.

The winner of the Davidson/CofC semifinal match will take on the winner of the match between No. 2 Samford (17-5, 9-1) and No. 3 Furman (15-7, 8-2). The Paladins advanced to last year's championship final before falling to CofC, 4-1. The Bulldogs won their final nine conference matches, including a 6-1 win over Furman March 27.

This weekend's matches can all be followed at soconsports.com.

The All-Time Series/Last Meeting
The Wildcats and Cougars have battled on the court 29 times since 1978, with the Cougars owning a 25-4 mark that includes this year's 5-2 decision, Mar. 20, at Covington Tennis Courts in Davidson, N.C.

Picking up the Wildcats' two points was Alison Rauh (6-4, 2-6, 10-7 at No. 4) and Stephani Synn (6-2, 6-4 at No. 3).

SoCon Tournament History
The Wildcats are 17-11 in the tournament since 1993, the first year Davidson was a part of the SoCon. In three of the past five league tournaments, they have reached the finals, facing Furman each time.

Scouting the Wildcats by Position
No. 1 Singles- Virginia Berry ... one of six 'Cats to hit 10 wins in singles play ... finished 13-8, 5-5 SoCon at top spot ... won three of final four singles matches ... tied for third-most wins in SoCon ... 61 career wins overall, 25 of those vs. SoCon.

No. 2 Singles- Teresa Wang ... closed out regular season with a record of 11-9, 5-4 SoCon ... went 6-7 at the No. 2 position ... opened the season winning first four matches ... 35 career wins.

No. 3 Singles- Stephani Synn ... had the best winning percentage in league at 15-3 (8-1 SoCon) ... was 7-1 at No 3 ... had a seven and five-match win streak during regular season ... closed out regular season winning three of last four matches.

No. 4 Singles- Alison Rauh ... finished with an even 11-11 record, a career-high win total for the junior ... one of four 'Cats with a winning mark in league play (6-4) ... played just one three set match all season ... also played at No. 2 and 3 singles spots.

No. 5 Singles- Ali Gores ... matched career-high with 10 singles wins ... was riding a four-match win streak before dropping last regular season match at Furman.

No. 6 Singles- Samantha Galainena ... one of the hottest Wildcats entering the tournament, having won a team-high nine straight matches to end the regular season ... had a team-best 16 singles wins, 10 of them at No. 6, both career highs ... went 8-2 in league matches ... one of only three SoCon players with over 10 wins at the No. 6 position.

No. 1 Doubles- Berry/Wang ... went a team-best 12-8 at the top doubles spot ... earned six of those wins vs. league foes ... went 6-4 in last 10 matches ... between the pair, they have combined for 93 doubles wins during their four-year playing careers.

No. 2 Doubles- Synn/Rauh ... went 11-7 and 7-3 in league matches ... won three of final four regular season doubles matches.

No. 3 Doubles- Gores/Galainena ... earned three of their five wins overall vs. SoCon-foes ... opened the season winning their first two matches together.

Scouting the Cougars by Position
No. 1 Singles- Holly Dowse ... went 11-12 at top spot, but 8-1 in league matches.

No. 2 Singles- Emma Hayman ... one of seven Cougars with over 10 singles wins ... finished regular season at 12-9 overall and 5-2 in league matches ... 10 of the wins were at No. 2 spot.

No. 3 Singles- Caroline Newman ... led CofC and the SoCon with 20 wins, going 20-6 overall ... 14-2 at the No. 3 spot ... closed regular season on four-match win streak ... was a perfect 10-0 vs. SoCon opponents.

No. 4 Singles- Kinsey Casey ... 15-10 (8-2 SoCon) in the regular season ... was 9-3 at the No. 4 position ... one of two Cougars with four-match win streaks to finish regular season.

No. 5 Singles- Lora Borza ... was 5-5 at the No. 5 position ... picked up 11 singles wins in all, going 11-6 ... had a 6-3 record in league matches ... went 8-2 in final 10 matches of regular season.

No. 6 Singles- Keely Mulligan ...was 9-2 at the No. 6 spot and 11-5 overall ... riding a three-match win streak entering tournament ... was 8-2 in last 10 matches ... went a perfect 6-0 in league matches.

No. 1 Doubles- Dowsey/Hayman ... tied for top-league honors with a 16-5 record at the No. 1 doubles spot ... was unbeaten in league play at 6-0 ... all 16 wins came at No.1 doubles and finished 9-1 in last 10 matches.

No. 2 Doubles- Borza/Evans ... second on the team with an 8-3 record ... six of those wins came at the No. 2 spot ... 6-2 in those matches.

No. 3 Doubles- Borza/Newman ... teamed up seven times at the No. 3 spot for a 6-1 record, 4-0 vs. SoCon opponents.

A Look ahead
Should the 'Cats win, they would advance to the championship game to face either Furman or Samford at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

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