The Terrapins women's tennis team will travel north to play a pair of matches this weekend against Ivy League opponents, with No. 51 Princeton on Saturday and Pennsylvania on Sunday.
The No. 41 Terps (2-3, 0-1 ACC) are coming off a victory against No. 60 Harvard, in which they won two out of three doubles matches and split the six singles matches to win the match, 4-3.
The Terps boast the No. 28 player in singles, sophomore Cristina Stancu, and are looking for continued strong play from her at the No. 1 singles position. Junior Ana Belzunce will look to defend her 4-1 record this season, a mark that was tested in a win against the then-46th ranked Brooke Bolender of Michigan last month.
In doubles, the Terps are in also in good position: The No. 37 doubles duo of Belzunce and sophomore Welma Luus have taken down three consecutive Top-25 opponents this season. They are 4-1 on the season.
Coach Dianne Matias said she likes the progress she has seen in her players. She spoke of their two games last week: one a disappointing 4-3 loss to Boston College and the next, an exciting 4-3 win against Harvard.
"Our team handles pressure very well," said Matias, "They always have a lot of energy and every match we are getting better."
Matias went on to say her team's biggest task is staying healthy this season.
"We've played five games this season, while Princeton just started really playing, so we are getting into our rhythm and that's an advantage for us."
The team will play two consecutive matches again this weekend, but Matias isn't concerned about her team's endurance.
"We're used to playing matches consecutively, so that isn't a big deal," Matias said. "We're playing well in both doubles and singles, and if we block out the fan distraction and play our game, we'll do well."
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