Opponent:
Salem vs. Guilford | September 24 | Greensboro, N.C. | McMichael '37 Centennial Class Courts | 1 p.m. | NOTE MATCH DATE CHANGE

SALEM OPENS 2023 FALL SLATE AT GUILFORD
The Salem tennis team wrapped up the 2023 regular season schedule with a decisive 7-2 victory over USA South Conference foe Greensboro when the two teams collided at the Bert Lain Tennis Center on Sunday, April 23rd.

That victory over The Pride helped Salem secure its first-ever trip to the USA South Conference Tournament, which resulted in a 5-0 setback to eventual champion and NCAA Tournament representative N.C. Wesleyan.

The postseason appearance marked the ninth-time in 14-year history of the tennis program that the Spirits have played a postseason match in a league tournament.

HOW THE 2022-23 SEASON CONCLUDED
Five individuals on the Salem tennis team captured at least three singles wins on the season, including Alana Bridges who led the way with seven. Teammate Alyson Gammons had the second-most singles victories with six, followed by Abrielle Eckenroth (four), Haley Gilley (three) and Ashley Linden (three).

Bridges won two matches each as the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seed, while claiming one win at No. 5. Four of Gammons' six wins came at No. 4, while the Ridgeway, Va., native posted one win as both the No. 3 and No. 5 seed. Eckenroth reached four wins in her first year on the team, which came as both the fifth (one win) and sixth (three) seeds.

Eckenroth won her last three of her final four singles matches, all by two sets, and was 3-1 in April. The victories came against Savannah Trujillo (Mary Baldwin), Clara Seamons (Southern Virginia) and Lauren Rose (Johnson & Wales).

FALL 2023 SCHEDULE FEATURES FOUR OPPONENTS OVER TWO WEEKENDS
Salem head coach Ed Steele will look to make progress with his squad during a stretch in late September that will feature four matches against Guilford (twice), Meredith and Pfeiffer.

Steele's 2023 squad includes seniors Alana Bridges and Emily Griffis along with a trio of sophomores with experience—Cadence Durham, Abrielle Eckenroth and Harley Hedrick.

Steele added three first year players to the roster in the form of Alyx Diggs, Mariana Faint and Adley Keim.

The Spirits have won at least five matches in six of the last seven years under Steele. The only exception came in 2019-20, where Salem was 3-1 in a COVID-19 shortened season.

SPIRITS OPEN WITH GUILFORD
Salem makes the trip up I-40 to take on Guilford for the eighth time in program history on Sunday afternoon. A victory over the Quakers would give Salem its sixth win in the head-to-head series and fifth consecutive.

The Spirits have triumphed over Guilford in each of the last four outings, a stretch that began with a 5-4 victory on March 24, 2017. After posting a 9-0 win in 2018 and an 8-1 victory on March 16, 2019, Salem edged out the Quakers by a slim 5-4 margin on October 6, 2019.

LOOKING BACK ON GUILFORD IN 2022-23
Guilford concluded the 2022-23 campaign with a 1-13 mark, which included a 6-3 win over Ferrum on April 11th.

The Quakers had three individuals claim four singles wins, including Ashley Belnap, Jodie Nhouyvanisvong and Hannah Pardue. Pardue was the top No. 1 singles player with four wins, while Belnap held down the No. 2 singles spot with four victories. Nhouyvanisvong claimed her four victories in No. 3 singles.

Belnap and Nhouyvanisvong also posted three No. 1 doubles wins, while Pardue and Nya Reed claimed three wins in No. 2 doubles.