Feb. 4, 2016 WACO, Texas -- The 15th-ranked Baylor women's tennis team will face No. 51 Oregon at 5 p.m. Friday and then turn around to play No. 46 Washington at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
"Oregon and Washington are both top 25 caliber teams," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "They are programs that have strong leadership and good young talent. We have a lot of respect for them and know this is going to be a challenge for us.
"The goal is to play well and to try to get to our best level as a team. I know we can play better than we've played. I love our spirit and unity in the past two matches. Now we need to play with more purpose and accountability. We are excited to get back on the right track and play in front of our home crowd."
Baylor (3-2) opened the season with three straight victories, including an opening road win at Hawai'i. After taking down McNeese State and UT Rio Grand Valley at home, the Bears fell short against old conference rival No. 9 Texas A&M. In their last match out, Baylor dropped a 4-1 decision on the road against Tulsa.
Newcomer Gabriela Ferreira is 2-1 so far in singles play. The duo of Blair Shankle and Kiah Generette, ranked No. 12 in the nation, is off to a 1-0 start.
The Ducks hold a 2-1 overall record, including a 4-1 win over No. 48 Virginia Tech in Lubbock at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Last weekend, Oregon took down Idaho 6-1 in its home opener. The Ducks have one ranked doubles tandem in No. 59 Shweta Sangwan and Kennan Johnson.
Baylor's only previous meeting with the Ducks came in 2000, which resulted in an 8-1 win by the Bears.
Washington is off to a 6-1 start, with wins over No. 66 Portland and No. 67 Hawai'i. Last time out, the Huskies defeated St. Mary's at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, but then fell to No. 6 California. The Huskies have one ranked singles player in No. 65 Stacey Fung.
Baylor and Washington are tied 1-1 in the all-time series. The last time the two teams met was in 2002 with BU taking a 4-3 victory.
Prior to the weekend's matches, the team will host a session of the Baylor Cub Tennis Program at 4 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Children 11-years-old and under can come to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center to receive free basic tennis instruction. Admission to all home regular season matches is free.
Live results and a live video stream for the match will be available at BaylorBears.com with a live blog available as well.
After the weekend's action, the Bears will go on the road to take on No. 3 Florida in Gainesville, Fla. on Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. CT.
Follow the official Twitter and Instagram accounts of the team: @BaylorWTennis for an inside look with results, photos and stories.
