Feb. 28, 2013

TUCSON, Ariz. -

No. 56 Arizona (6-5) will host a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2 at the Robson Tennis Center to finish the non-conference portion of its schedule. The Wildcats are set to face Utah State (2-2) at 10 a.m. MST and Grand Canyon (7-1) at 2:30 p.m. MST.

The Wildcats will look to bounce back after dropping two close matches this past weekend in Texas.

Saturday will be the first regular-season meeting between Arizona and both teams in over a decade.

Arizona is 5-1 at home this season and 3-0 against non-ranked opponents.

In singles rankings, UA junior Lacey Smyth (Oceanside, Calif.) moved up from No. 108 to No. 34 for her 10-1 record at the No. 1 spot. Smyth’s record at home in singles is 6-0 and the Oceanside native has won her last eight matches at the No. 1.

Fellow junior-teammate Kim Stubbe (Mol, Belgium) is also undefeated at home, 6-0, in singles. Stubbe has played at the No. 2 spot all season.

At the No. 3 singles spot for Arizona, sophomore Laura Oldham (Sheffield, England) holds a 5-1 record at home. Oldham’s overall singles record is 8-3.

UA Junior Akilah James (Brooklyn, N.Y.) carries a 5-1 singles record at home, playing at the No. 4 spot.

In doubles, James and junior Susan Mc Rann (Dublin, Ireland) have an overall 9-2 record at the No. 3 spot. The pair’s record at home is 5-1. 

Utah State will be led by head coaches Byran Merchant and Lukas Bouton.

Utah State will be playing outside of Utah for the first time this season when it face Arizona State on Friday before heading into Tucson. Utah State earned a win over Weber State in its last match and lost its only away match against BYU in Provo, Utah.

Sophomore McKenzie Davis features at the No. 1 singles spot for Utah State and she is undefeated, 4-0, in singles play. Senior Jaci West is 3-1 this season at the No. 2 singles spot for Utah State.

Head coach Gregory Prudhomme is in his fifth year coaching Grand Canyon. Coach Prudhomme and his team will be the first Division II team that Arizona will face this season. Grand Canyon currently ranks No. 14 among Division II schools and has yet to play on the road.

Sophomore Priscilla Annoual has played at the No. 1 singles spot for Grand Canyon this season. Annoual is ranked No. 26 among Division II singles players. Senior Katharina Mittag has played at the No. 2 singles spot in all matches this season for Grand Canyon.

For immediate results and continued coverage of Arizona Women’s Tennis, visit ArizonaWildcats.com, or visit the Arizona Women’s Tennis Facebook page, or follow @ArizonaWTennis on Twitter.