NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Rutgers women’s tennis team (8-5, 0-3 B1G) will continue its time in New Orleans, Louisiana and wrap up nonconference play against Southern University (1-9, 1-2 SWAC) on Saturday, March 18 at 12 p.m. ET.
Last Time Out
In its most recent outing on March 15, Rutgers (8-5, 0-3 B1G) was tripped by No. 16 Wisconsin (12-2, 3-0 B1G), 5-2.
The Badgers claimed the doubles point before the Scarlet Knights picked up a pair of singles wins.
Tara Chilton earned a victory on the second court, battling in three sets, 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (6). She is now 9-4 on court No. 2 and has won seven of her last 10 matches. Amira Badawi also earned the victory on court No. 3 in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. She is 4-2 on the third court and 6-2 overall.
Strong Start
The Scarlet Knights came out hot in the spring, starting off with a perfect 4-0 record. The team earned sweeps over Bucknell (7-0), Binghamton (7-0) in addition to wins against Drexel (6-1) and Army (5-2) for their first and best undefeated start since 2018.
Chilton leads RU with a 9-4 singles record, playing all 13 matches on the second court. Jackeline Lopez has also been solid at the top lineup spot with a 7-5 mark.
Rutgers has also been strong in doubles, winning the first point in eight matches this season. Valitova and partner Jackeline Lopez are 7-2 on the slate while Kim/Chloe Brown are also undefeated with a 2-0 mark.
Transferring In
RU welcomed two transfers this offseason in Amira Badawi (NJIT) and Tara Chilton (Washington).
Badawi, a native of Cairo, Egypt, compiled a 30-7 record with NJIT over two seasons, including an impressive 22-5 mark playing in the top three singles spots for the Highlanders in 2021-22, a season that ended with a second place showing in the Southland Conference Tournament.
In her two seasons at Washington, Chilton compiled an 18-18 singles and 17-14 doubles record. Last year as a sophomore, Chilton and the No. 37 Huskies played to a 14-12 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She went 7-2 in singles tournament play including reaching the round of 32 at ITA Northwest Regional.
Freshmen Duo
Rutgers also welcomed two freshmen to the squad, Mai Nguyen and Arina Volitova.
Ranked top 75 nationally, Nguyen arrives “On The Banks” from Atlanta,…
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