Sophomore Jacquelyn Cary |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University men’s and women’s tennis teams return to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play this weekend when they travel to Connecticut to face Fairfield University. The Purple Eagles meet the Stags at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Fairfield University Tennis Courts.
The Niagara men’s team enters the weekend with records of 5-7 overall and 2-1 in the MAAC. In their last conference outing, the Purple Eagles beat Saint Peter’s, 6-1, but lost to Manhattan, 4-0.
Brothers Erick and Walter Garcia continue to lead Niagara this season. Erick sports a 16-7 overall record and a team-best 9-1 dual mark. He is also 1-1 in league play.
Walter Garcia is 17-7 overall and 7-3 in dual action. He is one of three Purple Eagles who are undefeated in MAAC action at 2-0.
Fairfield enters the match with records of 5-3 overall and 1-0 in league. The Stags beat Saint Peter’s 6-1 in their lone MAAC match. Fairfield is coming off a 4-3 loss to Rhode Island.
In last year’s meeting, Niagara lead 3-2 before Jonathan Bozanich and former student-athlete Jason Ramos won at No. 1 and No. 4 singles to secure a 5-2 win.
The Niagara women’s team looks to remain undefeated in MAAC play (3-0) and improve on its 7-7 overall mark.
The Purple Eagles defeated Rider (6-1), and shutout Saint Peter’s (7-0) and Manhattan (7-0). Niagara has a 26-match MAAC regular-season winning streak. The last time the Purple Eagles lost a regular-season league match was Oct. 8, 2001.
Senior Mariam Al-Shikarchy leads the team with a 10-3 dual record, 3-0 MAAC mark and 14-5 overall record. She has never lost a MAAC regular-season match, sporting a 26-0 record over the last three and half years.
Sophomores Jacquelyn Cary and Julianne Prokopich, and freshman Shella Dargout could all post their 10th overall victory this weekend. Cary is 9-6 overall and 7-6 in dual matches, Prokopich is 9-8 and 8-5, and Dargout is 9-10 and 5-7.
The Fairfield match is a rematch of the 2004 MAAC Championship when the Stags beat the Purple Eagles, 4-3. In the regular-season meeting, Niagara won, 4-3, on Monteagle Ridge.
Fairfield enters the weekend with records of 4-7 overall and 1-1 in the league. It lost 6-1 to Marist on Wednesday and beat Saint Peter’s, 5-2, earlier in the season.
