Senior Kendra Daigler

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University women’s tennis team (1-3) opens the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference portion of its schedule when it hosts Rider (3-2) Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Monteagle Ridge campus courts.

The Purple Eagles enter the match after winning their first match of the season Oct. 3 with a 6-1 victory over St. Francis (Pa.). In their last outing, the Broncs snapped a two-matching losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Coppin State Oct. 2.

In their 2003 match, Niagara shutout Rider on its home court, 7-0, in the Purple Eagles second outing of the season.

Senior Mariam Al-Shikarchy continues to lead the Purple Eagles. She sports a 6-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in dual matches at No. 1. She also teams with junior Danielle Greiner at No. 1 doubles. The pair is undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in dual matches.

The No. 2 doubles team of sophomores Jacquelyn Cary and Julianne Prokopich also looks to remain undefeated in dual action.

Rider began its season with four-straight road trips. It beat Monmouth (5-2) and St. Francis (N.Y.) (7-0) before dropping matches at Siena (5-2) and at Marist (5-2) to stand at 0-2 in league play.