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NEW YORK - The No. 70 Columbia women's team will head to
Memphis, Tenn. for a pair of matches against ranked opponents this weekend. The
Lions will take on No. 42 Kansas State in a neutral site match Saturday, Feb.
16 and challenge No. 51 Memphis at The University Club Sunday, Feb. 17 at 9
a.m.
Saturday's match against the Wildcats will be the first matchup
ever between Columbia and Kansas State. It will be the first match for Columbia
since sweeping Florida International, 7-0, on Feb. 3. The Lions were slated to
compete at the ECAC Indoor Championships last weekend, but the tournament was
cancelled due to Winter Storm Nemo.
The ITA released its second singles ranking of the season
Tuesday, with Nicole Bartnik and Kanika Vaidya remaining in the poll. Bartnik
holds down the 37th slot in the latest rankings, while first-year Vaidya is
109th. In her first year with the Lions, Vaidya has a team-best 19 wins and is
3-0 in dual matches this spring.
Kansas State heads into the weekend sporting a 3-0 record
with wins over Tulsa, Harvard and William & Mary, each of whom is ranked in
the latest ITA poll. The Wildcats will take on Memphis Friday night before
Saturday's contest against Columbia.
The Wildcats top singles player, Petra Niedermayerova, is
ranked 17th in this week's ITA singles poll. She holds a 17-5 overall mark and
is 3-0 in dual competition. Two separate Kansas State doubles teams featuring
Niedermayerova are also ranked in the top-30. The pairing of Niedermayerova and
Karla Bonacic is slotted 26th, while the tandem of Niedermayerova and Ivana
Kubickova is 28th.
Columbia and Memphis met for the first time ever last season,
with the Tigers capturing a 5-2 decision at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center. Memphis
improved to 3-2 on this year with a 7-0 win over Morehead State on Feb. 1.
Senior Courtney Collins heads up the Tigers' lineup as the
top singles player with a No. 61 national ranking. Collins is also ranked 35th
in the latest doubles poll with teammate Kelly Gray. Fellow Tigers Caroline
Wegner and Stefanie Mikesz were slotted 47th in the doubles rankings.
Memphis will provide live stats of Sunday's match HERE.
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