Red Flash host first NEC match of the season on Sunday

Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis women's tennis (1-8) plays its first home match of the season this weekend as the Red Flash host Ball State (4-1) and Mount St. Mary's (0-3). SFU faces the Cardinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Alpha Tennis Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Red Flash then host the Mountaineers in both team's NEC opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Ebensburg Tennis Center.

The match on Sunday will be the first time the Red Flash has hosted a match on its home courts at the Ebensburg Tennis Center since 2013. Saint Francis has played home matches in Monroeville, Pa. the last five seasons. The first nine matches that SFU has played this season have all been on the road.

"It does start to be a grind playing weekend after weekend on the road," Head Coach Lisa Swope said. "This will be a nice weekend for the team to sleep in their own beds and get up and be on their courts. It should be a good match."

Ball State will be a challenging opponent on Friday as the Cardinals have defeated three teams this season that knocked off the Red Flash. Ball State previously defeated Dayton, Northern Kentucky and Youngstown State. The Cardinals' only loss came at ACC power Louisville.

Saint Francis hosts Mount St. Mary's on Sunday in a rematch of last season's NEC tournament quarterfinals. The No. 6 seed Mountaineers upset the No. 3 seed Red Flash 4-3 to end SFU's season. The only common opponent this season between Saint Francis and Mount St. Mary's is Navy. SFU fell 6-1 to the Midshipmen, while the Mountaineers dropped a 7-0 decision at Navy.

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