JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 5, 2024) – Riding a four-match winning streak and holding its highest national ranking in program history, the No. 60 ETSU women's tennis team will return to action this weekend when it hosts No. 46 Charlotte on Saturday and Samford on Sunday. Saturday's match is set to get underway at 2:30 p.m., while Sunday's is slated for a 1 p.m. start time.
 
ETSU enters the weekend with a 12-6 overall record and a 5-0 record in SoCon play. The Bucs have won four straight matches and seven of its last eight. The team is coming off a weekend where it knocked off No. 57 VCU (4-3) and Xavier (4-1). Thanks in part to these performances, the Bucs are now ranked No. 60 nationally, which is the highest ranking in program history besting the previous high of No. 61 in 2010. Furthermore, Sofia Markova collected her second consecutive SoCon Player of the Week award on Tuesday. ETSU has now won that honor seven times this spring.
 
Charlotte comes into Saturday's match in Johnson City with a 15-7 overall record. Like the Bucs, the 49ers have played a challenging schedule with Saturday being their eighth match against a nationally-ranked opponent. Charlotte, which is No. 46 in the latest ITA poll, have tallied four wins against those ranked teams: No. 67 Charleston Southern (4-1), No. 28 Columbia (4-1), No. 47 Denver (4-3), and No. 43 SMU (4-2).
 
Samford, meanwhile, is arguably playing its best tennis of the season as it has won its last four matches. The Bulldogs, which are 7-10 overall and 3-2 in SoCon action, have notched victories against Western Kentucky (4-3), Wofford (4-3), Western Carolina (5-2) and Chattanooga (4-3) during this latest stretch.
 
ETSU and Charlotte have clashed a total of five times since 2008. The Bucs have won three of the five meetings but the 49ers came away with a 4-0 win over the Bucs last season in Charlotte. As for Samford, the Bucs have beaten the Bulldogs 10 straight times, including a 7-0 win last spring in Birmingham. The Bulldogs' last victory over ETSU came in the 2015 SoCon Tournament by a score of 4-1.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.