March 27, 2012

UNCG (9-4, 4-0 SoCon) at Appalachian State (9-6, 2-2 SoCon), March 28, 2:30 p.m., Boone, N.C.

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com (via GoASU.com)

Storylines

- UNCG heads to Boone, N.C., on Wednesday to take on Appalachian State as it tries to remain undefeated in Southern Conference play.

- With a win over the Mountaineers, the Spartans would move into a tie for first place in the league with College of Charleston. UNCG (9-4 overall, 4-0 SoCon) is currently a half-game back of the Cougars (16-4, 5-0 SoCon) and is tied with the only other unbeaten in the league, Furman (9-7, 4-0 SoCon).

- The Spartans have won four straight, all in league play. Last time out, UNCG downed Georgia Southern 5-2 on Sunday at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. The Spartans swept the doubles point then picked up wins at the top four singles flights.

- Redshirt junior Niltooli Wilkins was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Tuesday. She went 4-0 last week, winning in singles and doubles in wins over Davidson and GSU. Wilkins clinched each match in singles play and teamed with Lucy Dougherty to clinch the doubles point in both matches.

- Wilkins paces UNCG with a 22-6 singles record and is 12-1 in dual play, all at No. 1. She has won 12 straight since opening the dual campaign with a 7-5, 7-5 loss to No. 44 Zoe De Bruycker of North Carolina on Jan. 18. With 22 wins to her credit and at least nine matches left on UNCG?s schedule, Wilkins has a chance to surpass the school record of 29 set by Alejandra Guerra in 2009.

- Freshman Stephanie Falcon is second on the squad with a 19-7 record (8-5 dual), while Annette Rios is 12-11 overall and 8-5 in duals and Devon Sutherland is 11-8 overall and 4-2 in dual play. Dougherty and Whitehead each picked up their 10^th wins of the season against GSU, each moving to 10-12 overall.

- In doubles play, Wilkins and Dougherty, who are ranked 66^th nationally and have been ranked as high as 40^th this season, are 18-8 with a 9-3 dual mark. Whitehead and Sutherland are 7-1 together at No. 2, while freshman Kayla Gammie and Rios are 11-3 with a 9-1 dual mark, mostly at No. 3, and have won seven straight.

- Whitehead is the reigning SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week. Whitehead owns a 4.0 grade point average and is majoring in media studies.

- UNCG has won the doubles point in 11 straight matches with five sweeps in that span.

- Sunday?s match against Georgia Southern was UNCG?s first in Greensboro in exactly one month. UNCG improved to 4-1 at home this year with a 3-1 mark at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center and a 5-2 win over Gardner-Webb on Feb. 21 at the UNCG Tennis Courts.

- Appalachian State is 9-6 overall and 2-2 in league play but has lost two straight for just the second time this season. The Apps fell to Furman and UNCW last week. ASU has beaten Elon and Georgia Southern in league play.

- Against the Seahawks on Sunday, Ellie Linsell?s win at No. 1 singles was all the Mountaineers could manage in the 6-1 neutral-site loss in Charlotte, N.C.

- Wednesday?s match will be ASU?s first at home in three weeks. The Apps have not played in Boone since a 7-0 win over UNC Asheville on March 7.

- Jennifer Ansari leads the Apps with a 9-5 dual record, all at No. 2, while Gabby Gabriel is 9-6 with matches at Nos. 4, 5 and 6. Linsell is 7-8 at No. 1.

- Ansari and Linsell are 9-5 in doubles at No. 1, while Gabriela Celi and Gisela Fernandez are 7-4 at No. 2. The Mountaineers have tried out five different combinations at No. 3, with Blakely Bean and Jessica Thaggard posting a 3-4 record there.

- UNCG has won five straight over the Mountaineers since a 4-3 loss in Boone to end the 2006 regular season. Last season, the Spartans took a 7-0 win at the UNCG Tennis Courts on March 19, 2011. UNCG swept the doubles matches and won all six singles matches in straight sets.

- UNCG -