Opponents:
Salem at Mary Baldwin| March 22 | Staunton, Va. | 3 p.m. | MBU Tennis Courts
Methodist vs. Salem | March 24 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 3:30 p.m. | Bert Lain Tennis Center
SALEM WRAPS UP FINAL MATCH BEFORE SPRING BREAK
The Salem tennis team heads into a two-match in three-day stretch this weekend by opening USA South Conference play against the tandem of Mary Baldwin (Friday) and Methodist (Sunday).
The Spirits will make the trip to Mary Baldwin on Friday to face the Fighting Squirrels at 3 p.m., before returning to Winston-Salem to face Methodist at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday afternoon.
SALEM CLAIMS ONE-POINT WIN OVER COLUMBIA COLLEGE
Highlighted by a pair of singles wins from Alana Bridges and Cadence Durham, the Salem tennis team halted its two-match losing streak with a 5-4 victory over Columbia College on Tuesday, March 12th.
Durham claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory in No. 3 singles with her triumph over Aniya Sims. Meanwhile, Bridges delivered a 7-5, 6-3 win in No. 5 singles by taking down Joyce Tate. The Spirits picked up one point in singles play by default.
The Koalas claimed three points in singles action, including a 6-1, 6-2 win from Helena Jokanovic, who defeated Adley Keim in No. 1 action. The same was true of Mariane Lima, who took down Mariana Faint in No. 2 singles by scores of 6-3, 6-1.
The final singles win by Columbia came from fourth-seeded Vienne Geren, who claimed a 6-1, 6-2 win against Emily Griffis.
The tandem of Faint and Keim did come through with one point on the afternoon for Salem, posting a 6-4 victory against Sims and Lima in No. 1 doubles action. However, the pairing of Jokanovic and Geren were successful in their No. 2 doubles match for the Koalas, defeating Bridges and Durham by a score of 6-0.
Salem took its other point in doubles as Jessea James and Emily Griffis won by default.
LOOKING TO MOVE TO .500 IN USA SOUTH OPENERS
The Spirits will look to even their mark in USA South Conference openers to 3-3 since joining the league prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Salem made its USA South Conference debut with a setback to Piedmont (8-1) on March 18, 2017. However, Ed Steele evened the mark to 1-1 with a 9-0 victory over Mary Baldwin on March 10, 2018.
The Spirits moved their record to 2-1 with an 8-1 over the Fighting Squirrels on March 30, 2019 and did not get to compete in the 2020 USA South Conference opener due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salem returned to the courts in 2022, suffering a 9-0 loss to Southern Virginia to open the USA South slate. Last season that trend continued with a 9-0 setback to Methodist on March 25th.
WHAT THE SPIRITS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE FALL SEASON
Salem concluded the 2023 fall season with a win over Guilford (7-2), while three the trio of Adley Keim (3-0), Cadence Durham (2-1) and Mariana Faint (2-1) earned two individual wins apiece.
The five-point win over the Quakers marked the first time since the 2018 season that Salem opened the season with a victory. The Spirits last opened the season with a win on September 29, 2018 when they downed Hollins by a 9-0 margin.
All three of Keim's victories came in the No. 1 singles position, while Faint picked up both wins in the fall season as the No. 2 singles player. Durham led the way for the Spirits in the No. 3 position with two triumphs of her own.
Faint and Keim paired up in No. 1 doubles to win all three matches in the fall slate, while Durham teamed with Alyx Diggs to notch one win in No. 3 doubles.
ANALYZING MARY BALDWIN IN 2023-24
Salem All-Time (vs. Mary Baldwin): The Spirits are 5-1 all-time against Mary Baldwin. The two teams first met on March 18, 2016, and Salem claimed five straight wins until April 22, 2022. The last meeting, which came on April 4, 2023, went to Mary Baldwin by a 7-2 margin.
The Fighting Squirrels bring a 1-5 overall mark into the clash with Salem on Friday afternoon.
Mary Baldwin has suffered two of those setbacks to USA South Conference foes Pfeiffer (9-0) and William Peace (6-3) on March 16th and March 17th, respectively. Furthermore, the Fighting Squirrels are 1-3 at home this season.
The lone team win, 5-4, for Mary Baldwin this season came on March 17th in a clash with East Stroudsburg. Two of the points came in doubles action, while the remaining three came in No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 singles.
BREAKING DOWN CLASH WITH MONARCHS
Salem All-Time (vs. Methodist): The Spirits are 0-5 all-time against Methodist. The two teams first met on February 17, 2016, with the Monarchs earning a 9-0 victory. Since that point, the Monarchs have earned four straight 9-0 wins over Salem.
Methodist improved to 3-4 overall with a non-conference triumph over Goucher College on Wednesday afternoon.
The Monarchs, who are 1-0 in USA South Conference action, have a two-match winning streak that includes a 5-4 victory against Pfeiffer at Misenheimer. Prior to that, Methodist suffered a 7-0 loss at the hands of Elon (March 8) and a 9-0 setback to Piedmont University (Feb. 24), both on the road.
Individually, Methodist is led by the duo of Veva Willocks (6-5) and Toni Laney (4-4). Willocks claimed all six of her wins in tournament play during the Fall 2023 season. Meanwhile, Laney, delivered three tournament victories and is 1-1 as the No. 1 seed for the Monarchs in the spring.
