Morgan Wagers

Sarah Duran

This Week's Outlook: The fourth-seeded College of Wooster women's tennis team faces fifth-seeded DePauw University – the ninth-ranked team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region poll – in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, April 27, starting at 1 p.m. at North Central High School's Barbara S. Wynne Tennis Center in Indianapolis, Ind. 

Media Coverage: Fans can follow live updates of Wooster's tournament action through the available tournament central page provided by Wabash College, the co-host of this year's tournament along with DePauw. Fans can also follow the women's tennis team's Twitter account @WooTennis for periodic updates and @WoosterSports for end-of-day results. 

Last Meeting: Wooster (15-3, 1-2 NCAC East) last met DePauw (7-12, 2-1 NCAC West) on Feb. 27, 2017, at Greencastle, Ind., as the then-No. 25 Tigers defeated the Fighting Scots 9-0. DePauw lost last year's top two singles players to graduation, while Wooster returns three student-athletes from last year's meeting in sophomore Joy Li (Beijing, China/Weil Tennis Academy (Calif.), sophomore Shannon Sertz (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), and senior Morgan Wagers (Coschocton, Ohio/West Holmes).

Historic Season: The Scots have been firing on all cylinders this season, setting individual and team records en route to a 15-3 overall record, the program's second-highest win total all-time and one victory shy of the 1997 team's record-setting total of 16. After going winless just over 10 seasons ago, Wooster tied the program's longest all-time win streak, set in 1978, with nine consecutive victories throughout the middle portion of the 2017-18 schedule. The Scots come in as winners of four in their last five and eight in their last 10 matches.

Li's Winning Ways: After being named the 2016-17 NCAC Newcomer of the Year – Wooster's third such nomination in the last five seasons – Li has not disappointed in her second season, posting a 19-5 overall singles record and 17-1 mark in dual matches as Wooster's No. 1 player. Li opened the season with 16 straight dual match singles wins, marking a program record for consecutive wins at the top spot, and with win number 19 over the weekend, she now ranks second all-time for most singles wins in a season. Additionally, Li's 17 wins mark a tie for second with W Association Hall of Famer Kirsten Patton ('88).

No Sophomore Slump: Along with Li, Sertz has shifted into a solid contributor at No. 3 with a 14-4 dual-match record, up from 8-7 last year as the primary No. 4 player. Classmate Mali Zemedkun (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/Lycée Guebre-Mariam) posted a six-win improvement over last year's overall record, going 11-6 overall and 9-5 at No. 6 this year.

Going Out In Style: Wagers – the Scots' lone senior – is 15-7 in singles this year and 16-8 in doubles alongside partner Li. With a straight-set win over Ohio Wesleyan last weekend, Wagers improved to 13-4 at No. 4 singles and set the program record for single-season wins at the fourth flight. In her last 10 singles matches, Wagers is 8-2 and is searching for her first victory against the Tigers after having played the No. 2 and No. 3 positions the two years prior.

First-Year Impact: Including Li and Wagers, four Scots come into Friday's match with at least 15 singles wins this year, and it's no secret Wooster's first-years have made key contributions to the Scots success in 2017-18. First-year Sarah Duran (Portland, Ore./Northwest Academy) is 15-5 overall in singles action and 14-4 at No. 2 singles while classmate Laura Haley (Tiffin, Ohio/Tiffin Calvert) has posted a 9-6 dual-match record. Duran's 14 wins at the second flight remain tied with alumna Sonia Vaidya for second-most single-season wins at No. 2.

Tournament History: These two programs have only met once in the NCAC Tournament, coming in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 edition, with DePauw taking the match 5-0. The winner of the opening match will face the winner of top-seeded Kenyon College and eighth-seeded Allegheny College.