TEANECK, N.J. -- Having been out of action since March 2, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's tennis team will return to the courts for back-to-back home matches against Fairfield and Fordham this week. The Knights will take on the Stags of Fairfield on Tuesday at 3 p.m. in their 2013 spring home opener before returning to the FDU Tennis Courts on Wednesday to face the Rams of Fordham at 3 p.m.

After going 2-0 in the fall season, FDU has lost all four of its matches this spring (at Rutgers, at Army, vs. Massachusetts, at Cornell). Freshman Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg) was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Month earlier in March after picking up victories over No. 3 flight competitors from Rutgers and Army, which at the time, gave her a nine-match win streak.

Individual Records:
Senior Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 ): 5-9; 1-5 at No. 1 (1-0 NEC)
Senior Egzona Morina (Prishtina, Kosovo/American School of Kosovo): 10-8, 0-4 at No. 2, 1-1 at No. 3 (1-0 NEC)
Freshman Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg): 9-4; 2-2 at No.3, 2-0 at No. 4 (1-0 NEC)
Sophomore Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 ): 9-6; 2-0 at No. 2, 2-2 at No. 4 (1-0 NEC)
Junior Manuela Leme (Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz): 5-8; 0-4 at No. 5, 1-1 at No. 6 (1-0 NEC)
Sophomore Gabriela Sarrate (Union City, NJ/Union City): 1-7; 0-4 at No. 6
Freshman Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park): 12-1; 2-0 at No. 5 (1-0 NEC)

The Knights will look to snap its four-match losing streak against Fairfield (4-3), who is picked to defend its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship. The Stags have won three in a row after losing their first three matches of the spring (vs. St. John's, vs. Providence, at Albany) and defeating Rider in the fall.

During its three-match win streak, Fairfield has won at Saint Peter's (7-0) and defeated Seton Hall (5-2) and NEC-foe Sacred Heart (4-3) at home. FDU won at Seton Hall, 4-3, in the fall, and will take on Sacred Heart and Saint Peter's later this season.

The Stags return four First Team All-MAAC selections from a year ago, including Monica Yajima, the 2012 Player of the Year. Sharissa Ryan, Carolinea Koladzyn and Nikki Jackson all return as well.

Yajima is 9-7 on the season and has won four straight matches at No.1 singles. Ryan has an overall record of 9-8, including a 4-2 mark at No. 2, and has won three in a row. Allison Radde (7-6) and Victoria Pirrello (2-7) both lost last time out to Sacred Heart at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Jackson is 3-7 on the season, having played at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6, and lost to Sacred Heart at No. 5. Maggie McLaughlin is 5-3 on the year at the No. 6 position.

Yajima and Radde will pair up at No. 1 doubles and are 3-0 on the season. Jackson and Pirrello will be the tandem at No. 2 and are 1-1 on the season after losing to Sacred Heart. Ryan and Emma Samson are projected to play at No. 3 doubles, with the duo playing only one match all season, resulting in victory over Sacred Heart.

FDU handled Fairfield last season, 6-1, in Palm Springs, Calif. Yajima defeated Rapoport, 4-6, 6-2, 10-2, at No. 1 singles, but the Knights swept the Stags in the other five matches. FDU also won two of the three doubles matches to claim the doubles' point.
It was the first meeting between the two sides since the spring of 2008, when FDU won at Fairfield, 6-1.

On Wednesday, the Knights will take on Fordham (5-5), who is picked to finish in ninth place in the 16-team Atlantic 10. The Rams, who won their lone match of the fall at Manhattan and dropped their first three matches this spring before winning four of their last six matches.

Fordham lost at NJIT (6-1), St. John's (5-2) and Dartmouth (6-1) before snapping its losing streak on the campus of Dartmouth with a 5-2 victory over Albany. The Rams then lost at Massachusetts (6-1) and won at Saint Joseph's (5-2) in conference play but fell at Columbia 6-1. Fordham won its last two matches last week in Orlando, Fla. over Radford (4-3) and NEC-opponent Quinnipiac (4-3).

FDU already lost at Massachusetts this season, 7-0, and will face St. John's and Quinnipiac later this year.

The Rams top player at No. 1 singles is Amy Simidian, who is 6-11 on the season and has lost her last six matches. Sarah Ali, who is 4-5 at No. 2, is 7-7 on the year and won last time out against Quinnipiac.

A trio of players has combined for a record of 3-7 at No. 3, with Bella Genkina most recently playing the spot and falling to Quinnipiac, which was her 10th consecutive loss, moving her to 3-16 on the season.

Angelika Dabu has settled in at No. 4, posting a 3-0 record at the position, while going 6-8 on the year. Julie Leong has won two straight at No. 5 and is 7-4 overall. At No. 6, Anika Novacek is on a four-match win streak and is 11-5 on the season.

Simidian and Ali will pair up at No. 1 doubles and have won three straight to move to 4-2 on the season. Grenkina and Dabu will team up at No. 2 and are 1-2 overall, losing to Quinnipiac last time out. Leong and Novacek also lost to Quinnpiac at No. 3 to drop to 3-3 on the season.

FDU has won three straight in the series, including a 4-3 victory last season in Teaneck. The Knights won two of the three doubles matches to claim the doubles' point and take an early 1-0 lead.

In singles, Rapoport defeated Ali at No. 1, and Elmine Botes (Heidelberg Gauteng, Rep. of South Africa/Hoer Volkskool and British International Distance College) defeated Grenkina at No. 2. Dabu and Leong picked up victories for the Rams at No. 3 and No. 4. Morina lost a tough three-set match at No. 5, but FDU clinched the match with a victory from Leme at No. 6.

Following the midweek matches, the Knights will return to action this weekend at Harvard on Saturday, March 23, and at home against Saint Francis University on Sunday, March 24 for an NEC contest.