Cougars at Home Against Weber St. and Utah

PROVO -- After sweeping Utah State 7-0 at home last week, the BYU women's tennis team will look to keep winning at home when it hosts Weber St. on Friday at 3 p.m. and in-state rival Utah on Saturday at noon in Provo.

This weekend's matches are just a few of the many home matches that BYU will be playing this season. BYU head coach Craig Manning said that this year's schedule is very beneficial to his team.

"We have a great schedule this year," Manning said. "We have 11 home matches with most of them against tough teams. It's always great to have that home court advantage."

Weber St. comes into this week's match with a 1-2 dual match record. The Wildcats were able to defeat Nevada 4-3 before losing to UNLV 0-7 in the UNLV Women's Invitational last weekend.

"It's always hard to anticipate Weber St.," Manning said. "In years past, they have come in here with some great teams."

Utah currently has a 2-1 record with big wins over Montana St. and St. Mary's. Last week the Utes were shut out 7-0 by Boise St.

"Our team is really looking forward to the match with Utah," Manning said. "Utah is always tough. The rivalry we have between the two schools always makes for an exciting match. It is also our first conference match so we want to get a great start."

Although the Cougars have a 1-2 record, Manning has been very pleased with the play of his team.

"We don't have a lot of girls to fill the lineup, but those that we do have are really stepping it up," Manning said. "We didn't lose more than three games in any set last week against Utah State. That is tough to do against any team. Nicole Schneider and Hadley MacFarlane have yet to lose this season in singles or doubles."

Manning has been exceptionally pleased with the play of Leeza Klempner. She has filled in for Lu Oswald at the No. 2 singles spot, who is out with a shoulder injury.

After this week's matches, the Cougars will have next week off before playing Oklahoma St. at home on Monday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.