No. 26 Tampa Set to Host No.16 Nova

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 26 University of Tampa women's tennis team will play host to No. 16 Nova Southeastern University to open up Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday at the Vince Naimoli Tennis Complex. The two teams will begin play at 10 a.m.

Tampa enters Saturday with a 2-0 overall record as Nova stands at 1-1.

After sweeping Ave Maria 9-0 in the Spartans home opener, coach Al Dufaux and the team look to defeat the Sharks on Saturday to take a jump in the national rankings as they currently sit at No. 26 in the latest poll.

The Spartans will look to sophomore Thashia Garcia to set the bar at Saturday's match. In the NCAA pre-season poll, Garcia was nationally ranked at No. 50 and looks to make a move in the rankings as she will face off against No. 10 ranked Alexandra Johansson. In 2012 the two aces faced off but were unable to complete their match due to weather. Before play was called, Johansson took the first set 7-6 (7-4), and Garcia was leading the second set 6-5.

Coach Dufuax will also look to his No. 10 regionally ranked doubles team; Lauren Hewett and Meg Wladimirski. Hewett and Wladimirski will take on No. 10 Johansson and Carlee Rizzolo. "Lauren and Meg are going in to their second year playing together. They quickly developed a great relationship, and their styles complement each other on court. That alone with their experience makes them a very powerful team and something special to watch throughout the season" says coach Dufuax.

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