Seahawks Battle Phoenix In CAA Quarterfinals

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW women's tennis team's quarterfinal match vs. Elon early Friday (April 29, 2022) has been moved up to 10 a.m. due to weather concerns and that suits veteran UNCW head coach Hans Olsen just fine.

The Seahawks, the No. 5 seed, take on the host Phoenix, the No. 4 seed, in one of four quarterfinal matches at Elon's Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

The eight-team event runs Friday through Sunday. In quarterfinal action on Friday, top-seeded Charleston (18-6) takes on #8 Hofstra (4-11) and #4 Elon (15-8) meets #5 UNCW (12-6) at 10 a.m. Action continues at 1 p.m. with #2 William & Mary (10-8) facing #7 Towson (9-12) and #3 Delaware (18-5) battling #6 Drexel (6-12).

The winners advance to Saturday's semifinals when the Charleston/Hofstra winner plays the Elon/UNCW winner at 11 a.m., followed by William & Mary/Towson winner against the Delaware/Drexel winner at 2 p.m. Sunday's championship match will be played at 1 p.m., with an automatic berth to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship on the line.

The Seahawks, 12-6, are appearing in the CAA Tournament for the 37^th time and are the No. 5 seed for the eighth time. Olsen's club is coming off a narrow 4-3 loss to Charleston last Saturday in the regular season finale at the UNCW courts.

UNCW captured its lone CAA crown in 2014 and has reached the CAA Championship match three times (2013, 2014, 2017). The Seahawks stand 17-27 (.386) lifetime at the CAA Championships and face the Phoenix for just the second time in tournament history. UNCW eliminated Elon, 4-2, in semifinal action in the 2017 affair.

UNCW and Elon met just once during the dual match season. The Phoenix prevailed, 5-2, on Mar. 26, 2022, by picking up the doubles point and adding four singles victories.

Overall, the Seahawks have compiled a 60-45 (.571) record in singles play this spring. Fourteen different doubles teams have amassed a 34-14 (.7-8) record and captured the doubles point in 14 of 18 outings.

Graduate transfer Lauren Gish (Mooresville, N.C.) leads the squad with 10 victories in her first season with the club. The Vanderbilt transfer owns a 10-8 mark at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 positions in the lineup. Another graduate transfer, Sasha Belaya, was named the CAA's Women's Tennis Player of the Week for the second time on Tuesday.

Gish and Belaya have been outstanding in doubles action, compiling a 10-3 record at the top of the lineup. The tandem carries a three-match winning streak into the tournament.

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Players Mentioned

Sasha Belaya: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Lauren Gish: 5' 4"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Sasha Belaya
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Lauren Gish
: 5' 4"; Graduate Student

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Seahawks Battle Phoenix In CAA Quarterfinals

Players Mentioned

Sasha Belaya

Lauren Gish

Players Mentioned

Sasha Belaya

Lauren Gish