EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. —  The Rutgers women's tennis team (2-1, 0-0 B1G) is set to return home to the East Brunswick Racquet Club this weekend to host a pair of matches against Delaware (1-0) and Yale (3-0).
 
The Scarlet Knights will host the Blue Hens for a midday match on Friday (Feb. 2) at 12 p.m.
 
Saturday's (Feb. 3) contest against the Bulldogs will celebrate Community Night, with the match beginning at 5 p.m.
 
Fans in attendance will receive a Rutgers Tennis stress ball, as well as free pizza. There will also be a raffle available for entry.
 
Last Time Out
 
Rutgers downed NJIT, 6-1, for its first road victory of the dual season.
 
The two teams played an extremely tight round of doubles competitions, with the Scarlet Knights coming out with the point.
 
RU then clinched the match with five singles victories, including wins from Tara Chilton, Jackeline Lopez, Yana Gurevich, Mai Nguyen, and Minchae Kim.
 
Recapping the 2023 Fall
 
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a successful fall schedule, where they posted a team record of 78-59 in singles and doubles competitions through seven total events.
 
Leading the way in singles play was Kim, who claimed 17 total victories, nine singles and eight doubles.
 
Nguyen also had a strong showing, recording an 8-2 record in singles competitions. The sophomore finished the campaign on a five-match win streak which included two straight-set victories and three comeback wins.
 
In doubles, the pair of Nguyen and Amira Badawi won five matches together, the most out of RU's 18 different duos.
 
Recapping the 2023 Spring
 
RU finished its 2023 spring season with an 11-13 record. The campaign was highlighted by a 9-2 nonconference record, earning wins in the first four matches of the year.
 
Following a challenging conference slate that consisted of nine ranked opponents, Rutgers earned the No. 13 seed in the 14-team bracket in the 2023 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament.
 
The Scarlet Knights opened the tournament with a match against No. 12-seeded Michigan State, earning a 5-1 victory. The first round win marked the first Big Ten Tournament win for head coach Hilary Ritchie since she was elevated to the position in 2016.
 
The team's spring campaign ended in the tournament with a 4-1 loss to No. 5-seeded Northwestern.
 
New Kids 'On The Banks'
 
RU welcomed two new additions to the squad this offseason, graduate student Gurevich and freshman Naomi Karki.
 
Gurevich spent four years at UC Davis before coming to join the Scarlet Knights. The Los Gatos, Calif. native announced her decision to finish her collegiate career 'On the Banks' in November 2022.
 
During her successful four-year career with her former team, Gurevich recorded a 44-30 singles record helping her to be named the Big West Player of the Week three times. She was also named to the All-Big West Conference Second Team Singles as a sophomore and junior.
 
Following a strong senior season where she finished with a 10-8 singles record playing exclusively at the top lineup spot, Gurevish was named to the All-Big West Conference First Team Singles and Doubles.
 
Karki began her Rutgers career after finding success at East Brunswick High School where she led her squad to the 2019 NJSIAA State Championship as well as GMC and Red Division titles.
 
As an individual, Karki recorded an impressive 24-2 during that season and was named the Heather O'Reilly Freshman of the Year as well as the GMC Fall Athlete of the Year by MyCentralJersey.com.
 
In 2021, Karki led her team to repeat as both GMC and Red Division champions. She also advanced to semifinals in doubles of G18 National Winter Championships.
Karki spent the 2022 summer training at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy in Villena, Spain.

Aye, Aye Captain(s)

Heading into the upcoming campaign, Ritchie has named Chloe Brown and Lopez as the team's co-captains for the spring. Brown, a senior out of Johns Creek, Ga., will enter the season as captain for the second-straight year, while Lopez, a junior from Dunwoody, Ga., earned the distinction for the first time in her career.
 
Entering her fourth spring season with the Scarlet Knights, Brown has appeared in 39 total matches over the last three years. The senior competed in a career-high 18 matches in 2023, recording 10 total wins, six singles and four doubles. Following the campaign, Brown was named a 2023 ITA All-Academic Team Member and ITA Scholar Athlete.
 
Lopez has been a mainstay at the top of Rutgers' lineups throughout her first two seasons with the program. During the 2023 spring slate, the junior took the court in 23 matches, recording 16 wins, eight singles and eight doubles. All of her singles victories came at the No. 1 spot.

History Against Delaware

The Scarlet Knights hold a 5-3 edge in the all-time series with the Blue Hens. RU's five wins all came in a row over the span of the 2014-2020 seasons.

Delaware has claimed victories in the teams' last two meetings, most recently, defeating the Scarlet Knights, 5-2, last spring.

Scouting the Blue Hens

Delaware opened its season on Jan. 27 against Villanova, claiming a 6-1 victory over the Wildcats. The Blue Hens are set to face Penn on Thursday, Feb. 1 in Philadelphia, Pa., before traveling to take on the Scarlet Knights the following day.

The Blue Hens are led by graduate student Eliza Askarova, who recorded singles and doubles victories on court No. 1 in the team's win over Villanova. In 2023, the Philadelphia, Pa., native became the first-ever Blue Hen to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, singles or doubles, with her teammate, Adel-Byanu Abidullina. The duo was ranked as high as third in the nation in doubles by ITA.

History Against Yale

The Bulldogs have claimed wins in each of the five all-time matchups between the two programs.

The two teams faced off during the 2023 campaign, with Rutgers falling by a close, 4-3, decision. In the match, Chilton, Amira Badawi, and Kim were able to record singles victories.

Scouting the Bulldogs

Yale is off to a hot start to begin the 2024 campaign recording three-straight wins over Quinnipiac, Xavier, and Indiana.

Freshman Shyla Aggarwal has competed at the No. 1 singles and doubles spot in each of Yale's first three competitions, playing to a 2-1 record in each. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Aggarwal was a two-time national High School All-American at Mason High School in Mason, Ohio.

Looking Ahead

The Scarlet Knights will begin a three-match road stint against Seton Hall on Feb. 10 (5:45 p.m.).

RU will then take a weekend trip up north to face Cornell (Feb. 17) and UConn (Feb. 18).

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