NEW YORK - The No. 52 Columbia women's tennis team will compete in a pair of matches this weekend. The Lions will first travel to College Park, Md. For an 11 a.m. match at Maryland Saturday, Feb. 23 and then return home to the Dick Savitt Tennis Center to host Akron Sunday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m.

Fans are encouraged to come out to Sunday's home match and enjoy FREE PIZZA.

Columbia went 1-1 last weekend on a trip to Memphis, Tenn. On. February, 16, the Lions downed No. 42 Kansas State, 4-2, the highest-ranked opponent that the Columbia women's tennis program has defeated. The following morning, No. 51 Memphis slipped past Columbia, 4-3.

No. 109 Kanika Vaidya has had the best success this season in singles for the Lions. She has a 4-1 dual record and is 3-0 when paired with Bianca Sanon as Columbia's top doubles team.

Maryland finds itself at 3-2 on the season after shutting out Towson on Feb. 15. The Terps are undefeated when competing at home at the Tennis Center at College Park with wins over Howard and UMBC, as well.

The Terps have been propelled by five freshmen this season. Two tandems of freshmen, Sarah Gealer and Gabriela Srodowski, as well as sisters Olga and Nataliya Bredikhina, have been major contributors in doubles competitions for Maryland, while the combined group of five newcomers is 17-8 in singles.

Akron will begin a three-match weekend with a head-to-head dual against Wagner Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Zips will take on NJIT before Sunday's contest at Columbia.

After starting the season 1-5, Akron has been victorious in its last four matches, In their last match, the Zips edged No. 69 Oregon, 4-3. Akron's top singles player, Angelina Jogasuria, clinched the win for Akron with a comeback win over No. 101 Patricia Skowronski.