Thursday, February 22, 2007

TUSCULUM TENNIS TEAMS OPEN SPRING PLAY THIS WEEKEND

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College tennis teams will open the spring portion of its schedule this weekend as they host King College and Francis Marion University, this Friday and Saturday, respectively at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

The Tusculum/King doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon, with the TC/Francis Marion matches slated to start 11 a.m. Saturday morning.

For King, this will be the first action seen by the Tornado. Both FMU teams are currently nationally ranked and have seen action this spring. The FMU men are ranked No. 14 in NCAA Division II and are 2-1. Tusculum (No. 39 in NCAA II) will be the fourth straight ranked opponent the Patriots have faced. The Francis Marion women (ranked No. 20 in NCAA II) are 4-0.

Both Tusculum teams posted 2-0 records in their respective fall schedules, recording victories over Concord University and Johnson C. Smith University.

The Tusculum men are led by two-time All-South Atlantic Conference standouts Carlos Garcia and Sergio Espinosa. Garcia, a 6-0 junior from Caracus, Venezuela enters this weekend's action with a 30-10 career singles record at Tusculum and is a perfect 12-0 in SAC matches. Espinosa, a 5-10 junior from Caracus, Venezuela is 24-14 at singles play and 27-11 in doubles action with Garcia.

On the women's side, three-time All-Conference honoree Danae Valderrama leads a determined Tusculum squad into this spring. During her previous three seasons at Tusculum, Valderrama has recorded over 100 singles and doubles victories. She enters this weekend's matches with an impressive 53-8 singles record and is 55-11 in doubles competition.

Tusculum College, located in Greeneville, Tenn., is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA and is a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference which is comprised of nine colleges and universities in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

- TC -