JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 17, 2025) – Fresh off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the ETSU women's tennis team will open its spring season this weekend with matches at Kentucky and Wake Forest. The Buccaneers and Wildcats will face off on Saturday at 10 a.m., while the matchup against the Demon Deacons is set for Monday at Noon.
ETSU has a veteran team returning to the court this spring as five of the six players currently on the roster were with the program a season ago. The lone newcomer is freshman
Ksenija Rage from Spain. Among the returners for the Blue and Gold are All-SoCon players
Daniela Rivera,
Alessandra Caceres and
Jana Rovira.
During the fall season, five of the six Bucs posted singles records above the .500 mark.
Julia Millan led the Bucs with a 12-2 record. In doubles, Caceres went 9-3 while teaming with two different partners to pace ETSU.
Kentucky is coming off a 9-15 record in 2024. The Wildcats did win a match in the SEC Tournament with a 4-1 win over Mississippi State but eventually bowed out to Auburn, 4-0. A player to watch for Kentucky is Julia Zhu as she was ranked No. 56 in the ITA national singles rankings at the end of the fall season.
Wake Forest posted a 15-14 record last spring. Despite being just one game over the .500 mark, the Demon Deacons received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament where they dropped a first round match to Vanderbilt, 4-1. Entering the spring portion of their schedule, the Demon Deacons have a nationally ranked doubles duo in Kady Tannenbaum and Nevena Carton. The tandem of Tannenbaum and Carton checked in at No. 44 in the final doubles rankings of 2024.
ETSU and Kentucky have met 13 times over the years and the Wildcats have won 12 of the 13 matches. The Bucs' lone win came in 2010 in Lexington by a score of 4-3. The two programs met last season, and Kentucky came away with a 5-2 victory. As for the series versus Wake Forest, the Bucs have faced the Demon Deacons twice with the last tilt coming in 2012. Wake Forest, which has won both matches between the two programs, also defeated the Bucs in 2011, 7-0.
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.
