CULLOWHEE, N.C. – For the third time in the last five days, Western Carolina women’s tennis returns to the courts on Tuesday, welcoming Tusculum to the Catamount Athletics Complex with the first serve set for 2 p.m. Tuesday’s match marks the third attempt the two schools have made to match up as weather has postponed the two previous attempts.

Western Carolina enters the week with wins in its last two matches including outlasting Western Kentucky on Sunday afternoon 4-3 in Bowling Green as sophomore Chloe Schwarz secured the victory for the Catamounts.

The Catamounts have used doubles play to help catapult them to both wins over the last week as WCU has won five of the past six doubles matches that have been contested. The sister pairing of Madison Schwarz and Chloe Schwarz as well as the duo of Andrea Redondo and Jade Groen lead the Catamounts with matching 2-1 marks in doubles play. Groen and Madison Schwarz are pacing the Catamounts in singles play with a 2-1 record for the two sophomores.

Tusculum began the season with a 2-0 record as the Pioneers grabbed a pair of 7-0 wins over Milligan and North Greenville over the fall portion of the schedule. Tuesday’s match in Cullowhee marks Tusculum’s first on-court appearance since defeating North Greenville on October 21, 2023. Tusculum is receiving votes in the opening ITA DII poll released before the opening of the spring campaign.

The Pioneers are led by Yiva Frafjord Landa and Valentina Loretz, who rank in the Top 20 in the ITA DII Southeast Regional Rankings last released in November. Landa sits eighth in the rankings while Loretz checks in at the 20th spot.

Tusculum finished the 2023 season with a 17-7 record, including an 11-1 mark in the South Atlantic Conference as the Pioneers fell in the SAC Final to nationally-ranked Wingate.

WCU holds a 4-1 record over Tusculum in the all-time series with Thursday’s match as the first head-to-head battle against the Pioneers since Feb. 4, 2022, when the Catamounts earned the 7-0 win in Cullowhee. The Catamounts have won each of the last four meetings with Tusculum.

Following Tuesday’s match in Cullowhee, the Catamounts continue their home stretch on Saturday, Feb. 3, against Milligan in a doubleheader set to begin at 11 a.m… WCU follows up with a match at Noon on Sunday, Feb. 4, against Davidson. All three matches will take place at the on-campus Catamount Athletics Complex.

For the latest information on Catamount women’s tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com. In-match updates are on the Catamount women’s tennis official tennis Twitter page.