Dual Season Kicks Off Sunday

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College women's tennis team, fresh off its best-ever season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, kicks off its 2016 dual match season on Sunday, Jan. 17, when the Eagles host No. 7 Virginia at the Flynn Recreational Complex.

LIVE STATS: BC vs. UVA

The Eagles, who are ranked No. 49 in the country in the first spring poll, finished the 2014-15 season with a 13-12 mark overall in the spring, including a 7-7 record in the ACC. BC lost just one regular player from last year's squad – No. 1 singles and doubles player Jessica Wacnik who graduated and is now playing professionally. Sarah Dalton also graduated, but saw limited action with a 2-0 mark in singles and a 3-0 mark in doubles.

UVA is the two-time defending ACC champion and boasts four players ranked in the ITA Top 32 entering the spring. Leading the way is 2014 NCAA champion Danielle Collins who's ranked No. 4 in the country. This fall, the two-time All-American went 13-2 and won the Oracle/ITA Masters Championship and the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship.

Julia Elbaba is ranked No. 8 nationally, and went 15-3 in the fall. A three-time All-American, Elbaba was also the ITA National Rookie of the Year in 2013. Stephanie Nauta is ranked No. 20, while Skylar Morton is ranked No. 32.

The 2015-16 Eagles

Heading up the 2015-16 team is junior Lexi Borr, who enters the spring season ranked No. 47 in the country. In the fall tournament season, she went 10-2 and captured the top flight singles title at the Harvard Fall Classic en route to a preseason Top 50 singles ranking. Last year, playing in the No. 2 singles spot, Borr went 13-6 overall, including a 7-4 mark in ACC play. She also teamed with Wacnik in doubles and went 14-4 overall, including 5-3 in the ACC.

Sophomore Asiya Dair, who like Borr earned a berth in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship last October, also returns after posting a 16-9 record in singles last year, including a 10-4 mark in ACC play. She began her singles career winning her first 10 matches and later captured third-team All-ACC honors.

A trio of seniors – captains Katya Vasilyev and Wan-Yi Sweeting, plus Heini Salonen – also return, while a pair of juniors fills out the returnees. Vasilyev went 12-8 in singles last year, including an 8-6 mark in the ACC – mainly in the No. 4 spot – BC's winningest position in 2014-15. Sweeting saw action in eight matches, going 4-4 overall, including a 1-3 mark in league play. Salonen played mainly No. 6 singles with some time at No. 5, posting a 3-14 mark and a 2-10 record in the ACC.

Juniors Emily Safron and Jennifer Ren (2-0 in singles) return to the courts this year. Safron went 11-12 overall in singles last year, mainly playing in the No. 5 spot where she went 8-8. In doubles, Safron teamed primarily with Vasilyev, and the pair posted a 9-6 mark with most of their action coming as the No. 3 team.

The eight-person Eagle squad is rounded out by freshman Jackie Urbinati, who broke into the college scene this fall with a 4-5 singles record in tournament action, and a team-best 8-1 mark in doubles (6-1 teamed with Borr, and 2-0 with Ren).

Boston College Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Lexi Borr

Asiya Dair

Sarah Dalton

Jennifer Ren

Emily Safron

Heini Salonen

Wan-Yi Sweeting

Jackie Urbinati

Katya Vasilyev

Jessica Wacnik

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