Blue Demons Begin Quest for Fifth BIG EAST Title

CAYCE, S.C. – DePaul women's tennis has its sights set on a fifth BIG EAST Championship crown when the Blue Demons open the 2024 edition of the postseason event on Friday afternoon against No. 7 Villanova in the quarterfinal round at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center. The journey for the Scarlet and Blue to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament begins Friday, April 19 at 11:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available here.

The Wildcats and Blue Demons have not squared off since the 2021 campaign. DePaul bested Villanova 4-1 in a conference semifinals meeting. Graduate student Yuliya Kizelbasheva is the only holdover from the 2021 squad that has faced Villanova in her career.

DePaul (15-7) enters the BIG EAST Tournament winning 10 of its last 12 matches. Prior to Xavier stifling the red-hot Blue Demons 4-0 on senior day, the team had won six in-a-row. The stretch resulted in a 7-1 record in BIG EAST play. Emily Casati finished the regular season with the best campaign of her career, amassing a 13-3 record including an impressive 13 match winning streak in singles play. Senior Greta Carbone ended the dual season with the second-best winning percentage at a 10-4 record.

On the doubles side, head coach Marisa Arce was able to count on the tandems of No. 1 Carbone and sophomore Hannah Smith along with No. 2 Casati and Kizelbasheva all season long. The former tallied a 10-5 record in dual action and a 19-8 record overall. Casati and Kizelbasheva totaled a 13-5 record in dual season play and a 20-7 overall mark.

No. 7 Villanova (10-12) concluded its regular season on a three-game losing streak before claiming a 4-3 win over Seton Hall in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday. Junior Valieriia Kornieva won the match for Villanova at No. 6 in three sets, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2. Head coach Steve Reiniger is in his 24th season at the helm of the program.

UP NEXT
The BIG EAST Semifinal is slated for Saturday, April 20 at 12 p.m. CT at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center with the winner facing either Georgetown or St. John's.

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Blue Demons Begin Quest for Fifth BIG EAST Title

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Players Mentioned

Greta Carbone

Emily Casati

Yuliya Kizelbasheva

Hannah Smith

DePaul University Athletics