Next Match:
Ferrum at Salem | March 22 | Bert Lain Tennis Center | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 3:00 p.m.

LAST GAME RECAP (vs. Johnson & Wales)
The Salem tennis team completed its second match in a four-day stretch on Sunday, March 19th in Charlotte, N.C., suffering a 5-3 setback to Johnson & Wales at the Park Road Park facility.

Johnson & Wales claimed the first point of the match when the No. 3 pairing of Hannah Stokes and Erin Weidner defeated the Spirits' tandem of Harley Hedrick and Jasmine Scott by an 8-0 margin.

Salem answered with back-to-back points in doubles, the first coming from Haley Gilley and Alana Bridges, who took down Kourtney Newton and Kendall Conrad by an 8-4 score. Cadence Durham and Emily Griffis followed that with an 8-7 victory of their own in No. 1 doubles, defeating Kourtney Newton and Kendall Conrad to give Salem the 2-1 lead.

Weidner picked up her second point of the day in No. 6 singles by taking down Scott by a 6-0, 6-2 margin. Conrad avenged her loss in doubles with a No. 3 singles victory (6-1, 6-1) over Gillis, giving Johnson & Wales a 3-2 lead.

Stokes provided the Wildcats with a point in No. 5 singles, claiming a 6-2, 6-3 win over Hedrick. The decisive team point came when Rodgers fought past Durham in three sets by scores of 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

Salem closed out singles play with a victory from the fourth-seed Bridges, who came through with a tough 5-8, 6-4, 10-4 triumph against Newton.

BRIDGES CLAIMS FIRST-EVER USA SOUTH IN-SEASON HONOR
After completing an undefeated week, earning two victories in both singles and doubles action, Salem's Alanna Bridges was named USA South Rookie of the Week in an announcement from the league office on Monday, March 20th.

Bridges, a junior on head coach Ed Steele's roster, became the first player in Salem program history to earn a weekly honor from the USA South. She is the first Spirit to be recognized for their on-the-court performance by a conference since 2015, when Andrea Akers was named Great South Player of the Week for her play during the week of February 24-March 2, 2015. Bridges joins three other players— Ayala Pruitt, Andrea Akers (2x) and Ashley Koehler—to earn a weekly player of the week honor in Salem tennis history.

Bridges claimed the award after completing a perfect week, triumphing in two singles and two doubles matches against both Agnes Scott and Johnson & Wales. She began the week by pairing with teammate Harley Hedrick to defeat the Agnes Scott tandem of Cyrus Lichtenstein and Katherine Cox by an 8-5 margin when they collided in No. 3 doubles. When Bridges and Cox met in No. 4 singles, Bridges continued her dominance with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

Four days later, when Salem made the short trek to Charlotte, N.C., to face Johnson & Wales, Bridges again delivered two points for the Spirits. The Morganton, N.C., native joined doubles teammate Haley Gilley and the No. 2 pairing posted an 8-4 victory against Kourtney Newton and Kendall Conrad. Bridges followed that up by becoming the only Spirit to earn a singles point, defeating Newton in the clash of No. 4 seeds.

TWO MATCHES UPCOMING FOR SALEM THIS WEEK
The Spirits have two matches on the docket for this week, including Wednesday's clash with Ferrum at 2 p.m.

After facing the Panthers, Salem will head to Methodist on Saturday, March 25th, marking the 2023 USA South Conference opener.

Salem has four matches remaining in its March schedule, including clashes with N.C. Wesleyan (March 27) and William Peace (March 29).

SPIRITS RENEW RIVALRY WITH FERRUM
Salem renews its rivalry with former USA South Conference member Ferrum on Wednesday afternoon at the Bert Lain Tennis Center.

The Spirits have clashed with Ferrum on five occasions, most recently on September 28, 2019.

Salem owns a 5-0 record in the head-to-head meetings between the two programs, claiming the first-ever victory (8-0) on February 20, 2009. The Spirits claimed two wins in 2011, earning a 5-1 victory in Winston-Salem on February 26 before posting a 6-3 win less than a month later on March 17th in Ferrum.

In the only neutral site meeting between the two, Salem picked up its fourth all-time win by a 5-4 margin on March 18, 2018. The Spirits kept their 5-0 mark in the all-time series intact in 2019 with a 6-3 win.

TOPPING THE INDIVIDUAL CHARTS FOR SALEM
The Spirits have four individuals with at least two singles victories through the first five matches of the slate, including Alana Bridges, who is 3-2. Bridges as two wins as a No. 4 seed and one as the fifth-seed for Salem.

Teammates Alyson Gammons, Haley Gilley and Harley Hedrick have all accounted for two singles wins this season for the Spirits.

Gammons is a perfect 2-0 on the slate, notching wins as both the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds. Gilley (2-2) earned one victory at both No. 2 and No. 3 for Salem. Meanwhile, Hedrick has made a great first impression with a win in both the No. 5 and No. 6 flight for the Spirits.

Hedrick has also notched three victories in doubles play, all alongside Bridges, as the pair has claimed three victories as the No. 3 seed. Salem's Cadence Durham and Emily Griffis have paired for two wins in doubles, both as the No. 1 pairing.

LOOKING AT FERRUM IN 2022-23
Ferrum enters its third match of March with a 2-2 mark, looking to rebound from a 9-0 setback to in-state foe Sweet Briar, which came on March 19th.

The Panthers are 1-1 in the month after picking up a 6-3 win at Greensboro on March 18th. The victory over The Pride was Ferrum's first, after defeating William Peace on February 18th. The Panthers opened the slate with a 9-0 setback to Johnson University on September 23, 2022.

Ferrum is led individually by Morgan Hundley and Emily Mahood, who both have two singles wins on the season. Hundley is a perfect 2-0 from the No. 3 seed, 2-1 overall, while Mahood has a 2-0 mark as the No. 4 seed.

The pair of Hundley and Mahood has notched a perfect 2-0 record in doubles, claiming both wins as the No. 2 seed.