Pirates Primed for BIG EAST Championships

South Orange, N.J. – The No. 6 seed Seton Hall women's tennis team opens play in the BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinals against No. 3 seed Georgetown on Friday, April 28 at 4 p.m. at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C.

The Pirates (7-9, 1-4 BIG EAST) have proven they have the ability to compete with anyone in the BIG EAST. In its final home match, SHU played a tight match with top overall seed, St. John's, fighting the Red Storm wire-to-wire before falling 4-3. The Pirates also pushed defending BIG EAST Champion Xavier to its limit on March 26.

The last time SHU met Georgetown (12-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) was in Washington, D.C. last season when the Hoyas came away with a 7-0 sweep. Julia Keenan and Katie Kim (Honolulu, Hawaii) registered a win in doubles play, but The Hall could not keep pace as GU carried momentum after clinching the doubles point, 7-6 (5).

Sophomore Anicka Fajnorova (Bratislava, Slovakia) leads the team with a 9-3 dual match record and has been a reliable contributor for the Pirates all season. Junior Luize Strike (Riga, Latvia) is a steady fixture at the top of the lineup, and has six victories at the No. 1 singles flight. Additionally, Strike and Fajnorova are the No. 1 doubles team and are 7-4 on the season.

An important factor for The Hall in 2016-17 has been the emergence of talented freshmen into the lineup. Michal Matson (St. Albans, New Zealand) and Melody Taal (Ede, Netherlands) have been important contributors throughout their respective debut campaigns. The duo boasts a 5-2 record at the No. 3 doubles flight and has a combined 15 singles victories.

Kim and sophomore Thandy Kangwa (Fort Myers, Fla.) are 1-0 at No. 1 doubles and 5-4 in the No. 2 position. Freshmen Krista Cerpina (Riga, Latvia) and Anniek Jansen (Naarden, Nethlerlands) are a combined 7-2 at No. 6 singles.

Fans can follow Friday's match on live scoring and for the latest updates and results follow @SHU_Tennis on Twitter and visit BIG EAST Championship Central.