JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 28, 2024) – Winners of five of its last six matches, the ETSU women's tennis team will return to action this weekend when it hosts No. 57 VCU and Xavier. The Bucs will face off against the nationally-ranked Rams on Friday before welcoming the Musketeers to Johnson City on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
 
ETSU picked up wins over Mercer (7-0) and Chattanooga (6-1) last week to boost its overall record to 10-6 on the 2024 campaign. Furthermore, the Buccaneers improved to 5-0 in SoCon play with those victories against the Bears and Mocs. Earlier this week, senior Sofia Markova was recognized for her play last week by being named the SoCon Women's Tennis Player of the Week. It is the first weekly award that Markova has earned at ETSU and the sixth that ETSU has collected this spring.
 
VCU comes to Johnson City on Friday with a 12-4 record overall and 4-0 in A10 play. The Rams, which were ranked No. 57 in the latest ITA National Poll, have faced off against three ranked teams in their last three matches and are 1-2. VCU picked up a 4-2 win over No. 64 FAU but suffered losses to No. 72 USF (4-2) and No. 54 Memphis (4-3).
 
Xavier, meanwhile, is also 12-4 on the 2024 campaign. The Musketeers have won six of their last seven matches dating back to late February. Xavier is coming off a 7-0 shutout victory at Louisville last Friday.
 
The Buccaneers and Rams have matched up nine times over the years with the first coming in 2003. VCU has won seven of the nine matches between these two programs, but ETSU picked up a 5-2 win in Richmond last February. Sunday will mark the fourth matchup between ETSU and Xavier. The Bucs are 2-1 against the Musketeers, including a 4-3 win in February 2022.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.