ELMIRA, NY -- Elmira College women's tennis to host Empire 8 Conference rival Nazareth College at the Murray Athletic Center, in Pine Valley, New York, on Tuesday, October 4th, at 4:00 p.m.

Last Time Out: Elmira suffered another tough setback in its most recent outing, a 6-3 loss to Alfred University at the St. Bonaventure Indoor Tennis Courts in Olean, New York.  Elmira claimed wins at first and second singles, as well as at first doubles, with all three wins being earned by Tilila El Yazidi '20 and Megan Fitzgerald '18. The duo posted an 8-4 win in doubles, before producing a pair of straight-set victories in singles. At the top position, El Yazidi blanked her opponent 6-0, 6-0, while Fitzgerald surrendered just one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the No. 2 spot.
                                                          
Single-Season Records in Sight: El Yazidi and Fitzgerald have pieced together solid results during the 2016 campaign, especially in singles action. Both players have nine wins on their resumes, a mark that is tied for fourth place in the EC record book. Only three players in program history have ever won 10 or more matches in one season, headlined by Ayaka Yoshino '16 and her program-record mark of 11 single-season wins in 2014-15. Additionally, the single-season record for total wins is also within reach for both players, as the duo is four victories away from taking over the top spot. With four matches left, El Yazidi and Fitzgerald both sit in good positions to make a push for the single-season record.
 
Banner Year for Fitzgerald: With an 18-4 combined record this season, Fitzgerald is hands down having her best season as a Soaring Eagle. Her 18 victories already match her career-high total, while her nine singles and doubles wins also matched her single-season best.

Scouting Nazareth: After dropping their first two matches of the season, the Golden Flyers have turned things around quite nicely. Naz has won four its last five matches to bring its overall record to 4-3 with a 4-2 mark in E8 matches. Up until this past Saturday's 9-0 loss to Ithaca, the Nazareth women had enjoyed a four-match win streak, winning all four matches by identical 8-1 scores. Allison Friends is enjoying a solid season as Nazareth's No. 2 singles player. Friends is 5-6 on the year with a 5-2 mark in dual matches. She is also 4-6 in doubles, including a 4-3 mark in dual-match play at the No. 1 position. Also be sure to keep an eye on Jean McCarthy, who is 4-3 this season at the No. 1 singles position.
 
All-Time Series: Since the 1992 season, Elmira and Nazareth have met 29 times. The Golden Flyers have a big lead in the all-time series with a 26-3 record. Elmira's wins occurred in the 1997, 1998, and 2014 fall seasons.
 
Looking Ahead: Elmira continues its three-match homestand this weekend with a pair of conference matches against Stevens Institute of Technology and Hartwick College. The Soaring Eagles host the Ducks on Saturday, October 8th, at the Murray Athletic Center at 1:00 p.m., before concluding their regular season home schedule the following day with a match against the Hawks, which will also take place at 1:00 p.m.