Upcoming Matches:
Salem vs. Mary Baldwin | April 4 | Bert Lain Tennis Center | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2:00 p.m.
Salem vs. Winston-Salem State | April 6 | Bert Lain Tennis Center | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2:30 p.m.
Salem at Meredith | April 8 | Meredith Tennis Complex | Raleigh, N.C. | 2:00 p.m.

LAST GAME RECAP (vs. Pfeiffer)
The Salem tennis team opened up April action with an 8-1 setback to visiting Pfeiffer, when the two USA South Conference teams clashed at the Bert Lain Tennis Center on Saturday, April 1st in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Pfeiffer picked up three points in doubles action, including the first from the No. 2 pairing of Elithe Hudson and Riley Isley, who posted an 8-0 victory against Alyson Gammons and Ashley Linden. The second Falcon point came from the duo of Megan Rekieta and Alison Sloop, after posting an 8-2 win against Emily Griffis and Cadence Durham.

Emily Moore and Delaney Geygan picked up the third win in No. 3 doubles by virtue of an 8-4 win over Alana Bridges and Abrielle Eckenroth.

Pfeiffer moved its lead to 4-0 when Hudson opened singles action with a 6-0, 6-0 decision over Griffis. Rekieta cinched the team win for the Falcons by taking down Durham in the clash of No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1.

The fifth point for the Falcons was scored by Sloop, who triumphed by scores of 6-2, 6-0 in a No. 4 seeded battle with Gammons. Isley added a point from the No. 3 seed, downing Bridges by scores of 7-6, 6-4.

The final point for Pfeiffer came from Moore, who fought past Eckenroth for a three-set win by scores of 4-6, 7-6, 10-3. Linden was responsible for the lone Salem point of the match, which came with a 7-6, 7-5 win over Geygan in fifth-seeded singles.

THREE MATCHES IN FIVE DAYS FOR SALEM THIS WEEK
The Spirits are facing three matches in the next five days, beginning with a clash against Mary Baldwin on Tuesday afternoon.

Salem wrapped up last week with a 1-2 mark, posting a 6-3 win at William Peace on Wednesday, March 29th, to improve to 3-7 overall and 1-3 in USA South Conference action.

The Spirits will host two matches at the Bert Lain Tennis Center this week, including Tuesday's clash with Mary Baldwin at 2 p.m. Two days later, on Thursday afternoon, Salem puts the finishing touches on its three-match homestand when it hosts crosstown rival Winston-Salem State at 2:30 p.m.

The week concludes with a return trip to Raleigh, N.C., where Salem will square off against Meredith at 2 p.m.

TOPPING THE INDIVIDUAL CHARTS FOR SALEM
Individually, Salem is led by the duo of Alana Bridges and Alyson Gammons, who have five and four singles victories, respectively. Bridges has claimed a team-best five wins on the season by virtue of two wins at both the No. 3 and No. 4 position, while Gammons has three victories as the No. 4 seed and one as the fifth-flight seed.
Teammates Ashley Linden, Haley Gilley and Harley Hedrick have all posted two singles victories for Salem this season. Linden grabbed both of her singles wins last week, by defeating Hailey Gilliam (William Peace) by scores of 6-0, 6-0 and Delaney Geygan (Pfeiffer) by margins of 7-6, 7-5. Both Gilley and Hedrick sustained injuries that have kept them out of the Salem lineup.

Three doubles pairings are responsible for multiple wins for Salem this season. The top doubles unit was comprised of Bridges and Hedrick, resulting in a 3-0 mark, all coming as the No. 3 seed. Meanwhile, the combinations of Cadence Durham and Emily Griffis as well as the tandem of Gammons and Linden, have both posted two wins for the Spirits.

Durham and Griffis earned both of their victories as the No. 1 seed, while Gammons and Linden have teamed for two wins as the No. 2 seed for Salem.

ANALYZING CLASH WITH MARY BALDWIN
Head-to-Head with Fighting Squirrels: Salem is a perfect 5-0 when facing Mary Baldwin. The two teams first met on March 18, 2016, with Salem prevailing by a 5-4 margin. Since that point, the Spirits have claimed two 9-0 wins, which came on March 10, 2017 and exactly one year later, which moved the mark to 3-0. The Fighting Squirrels returned to Winston-Salem on March 30, 2019, suffering an 8-1 setback. Salem kept its perfect mark intact with a 6-3 victory on April 22, 2022.

Mary Baldwin heads to Winston-Salem with a 2-13 overall mark and a 1-3 record in USA South Conference play on Tuesday afternoon. The Fighting Squirrels have claimed both wins in their last six outings, posting victories against Penn State-Abington (7-2) and William Peace (7-2).

Mary Baldwin opened the season by dropping its first nine straight matches, including the first six consecutive in spring play. The first multi-point match of spring action came at the Hilton Head Spring Break Trip, where the Fighting Squirrels suffered a 6-3 setback to Alfred on March 7th.

ANALYZING CLASH WITH WINSTON-SALEM STATE
Head-to-Head with Rams: The two Winston-Salem programs have met five times over the course of the last 13 years, with Winston-Salem State owning a 4-1 record in the head-to-head series. They first met on April 13, 2010, with the Rams prevailing by a 9-0 margin. Salem took the second contest by a 5-4 margin on April 3, 2015, but the Rams answered with 8-1 victories in both 2016 (April 19) and 2017 (April 18). The last meeting came on February 23, 2018, with Winston-Salem State earning a 7-2 victory in the contest.

Winston-Salem State brings a 5-4 record into its clash with Salem on Thursday afternoon. The Rams have dropped three of their last four matches, including back-to-back matches against Averett (6-1) and Shaw (4-0) last week.

After opening the season with a setback to Shaw on March 4th, Winston-Salem State rattled off four straight victories against Livingstone (4-0), Bowie State (4-0), Elizabeth City State (4-0) and Virginia Union (March 18) between March 11 and March 18.

ANALYZING CLASH WITH MEREDITH
Head-to-Head with Avenging Angels: Meredith has won all five head-to-head meetings between the two USA South Conference programs since their first meeting on March 29, 2015. Salem has claimed just three points in the five matches, earning one point in clashes in 2015 (March 29), 2018 (March 30) and 2019 (April 16). The Avenging Angels posted two 9-0 victories against Salem in both the 2016 (March 2) and 2022 (April 14) seasons.

Meredith enters the season with an 0-6 overall mark, which includes an 0-3 record in USA South Conference action. The Avenging Angels will host Greensboro on Thursday, before meeting Salem on Saturday afternoon.

Meredith has scored just four points in its six matches this season, including two in the fall clash with Hollins on September 24th. The remaining two team points came against Randolph-Macon (March 5) and Brevard (April 1). Meanwhile, the trio of Southern Virginia, Averett and Methodist came through with 9-0 victories against the Avenging Angels.