DELAND, Fla. – Off to one of its best starts in more than a decade, the Stetson University women's tennis team will return to the court this Sunday to open ASUN conference action. The Hatters, who are a perfect 9-0 at Mandy Stoll Tennis Center this year, will face North Florida, the 2022 ASUN Women's Tennis Preseason Poll top pick.
 
The Ospreys enter the match with a 5-7 record, and are only 1-3 on the road, but have lost to four nationally-ranked opponents. The Hatters enter Sunday's contest with an 11-1 mark, which is the best start since 2011, when Stetson won 15 of its first 16 matches. With its fast start, Stetson was nationally ranked at No. 62 on February 24 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the first time in program history.
 
Other notable best starts for the Hatters over the past 10 seasons include the 2012 season, when they jumped out to an 11-2 mark and the 2014 season, when they opened the year 10-2. That squad tied the school record for wins in a season and holds the best ever winning percentage mark at 18-6 (.750).

"We are all looking forward to this test versus UNF," Hatters head coach Travis Sandlant said. "We know it's going to be a physical battle, but also a mental one too. We are coming in with huge confidence this year and we hope our fans who have supported us so far will come out again for this blockbuster."

North Florida and Stetson, picked fourth in the preseason poll, will each be competing this season for a spot in the 2022 ASUN Women's Tennis Championship, which is a six-team, single-elimination tournament contested over three days. The top-six teams based on regular-season conference standings will advance to the tournament, being held April 22-24 in Huntsville, Alabama.
 
QUICK NOTES on the Hatters
 

• Stetson has won six of its matches without losing a point, while two have been decided 6-1 and the other three 5-2. In its lone loss, at the University of South Florida, the Hatters lost 4-3, a match in which they failed to win the doubles point, which has only happened two other times this year.
• Sophomore Nadejda Maslova has played primarily at the No. 1 singles spot all season and currently has a team best 7-2 mark at the flight, while senior Anais Gabriel has gone 2-1 at No. 1, 4-0 at No. 2 and 3-0 at No. 3. Overall, she is 9-1 and has won for straight. Those two players have each been named the ASUN Player of the Week, with Maslova taking the honor on Feb. 8 and Gabriel earning hers just this week.
• Freshman Cheri Darley is also 9-1 this season and has won six straight matches. She is 4-1 at No. 2 and a team-best 5-0 at No. 3. The Hatters are a perfect 12-0 this season at flights 3, 4 and 5.
• Contributing to those perfect marks is junior Noa Cohen and freshman Alanna DiFrancesco, who are both unbeaten this season. Cohen (10-0) has tacked up a 5-0 at the No. 4 spot, 3-0 at No. 5, while DiFrancesco (11-0) is 4-0 at both flights 4 and 5.
• Sophomore Elodie Foster sports an 8-2 mark with most of her wins coming at No. 6 (4-2), but also has two wins at the No. 5 spot.
• There has been a total of 11 doubles pairings since the start of the year, but there have been three mainstays. The pairing of Cohen and Gabriel are 7-1 this season, all at the No. 3 spot and they have won six straight matches. Maslova and Darley are 7-2 at No. 2 and Foster and DiFrancesco are 6-4 at No. 1. Combined, flights 2 and 3 doubles are 21-3.

Sunday's home match against North Florida begins at 11 a.m., which will be followed by the men's team also facing the Osprey in its ASUN opener starting at 3 p.m.
 

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About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF).

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