Greyhound Women to Host Catholic in Landmark Conference Semifinal on April 30
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian University women’s tennis squad is set to host third seed The Catholic University of America on Thursday, April 30 in a 2026 Landmark Conference Tournament Semifinal match beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Hoffman Courts. If weather forces the match indoors, it will be played in Timothy Breidegam Fieldhouse at the same starting time.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian University women's tennis squad is set to host third seed The Catholic University of America on Thursday, April 30 in a 2026 Landmark Conference Tournament Semifinal match beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Hoffman Courts. If weather forces the match indoors, it will be played in Timothy Breidegam Fieldhouse at the same starting time.
The Greyhounds enter the contest with a 15-3 record this spring including an 8-1 mark in Landmark Conference action under the guidance of fifth-year Director of Tennis Mariana Freitas. Moravian is in the postseason for the ninth consecutive year. The Hounds, who have won five Landmark Conference titles and a total of 13 conference championships in program history, defeated the Cardinals, 4-1, at Catholic on April 24. Moravian, Catholic and The University of Scranton all finished the Landmark Conference at 8-1 with the Royals earning the top seed on a tiebreaker of individual matches won among the three teams with seven while the Hounds were second with six and Catholic third with five.
Freshman Kaelyn Balko has a 16-1 record in singles action to lead the Greyhounds while junior Sydney Shifman is 15-3 on the year. Senior Izzy Szmodis has a 13-5 mark while freshman Natalia Smith is 10-5. Junior Leah Zolotareva has a 9-6 record while freshman Fraukje van Baars is 6-2 on the season. Sophomore Jenna Gower and freshman Madi Schottman both have 5-4 singles slates.
Szmodis and Zolotareva have combined for a 17-6 doubles record with Szmodis breaking the career doubles victory mark, now with 65. Shifman and Smith have teamed up for an 11-4 mark while Gower and van Baars have a 6-2 slate. Balko is 20-4 with multiple partners including an 8-2 slate with Gower and a 4-1 mark with Smith. Gower and Shifman are 1-2 on the season. Schottman and Shifman have a 1-1 record.
Catholic defeated sixth seed Juniata College, 4-0, in the First Round to advance to the Semifinals while fourth seeded Drew University posted a 4-2 win over fifth seed Wilkes University to move on to face second seed Scranton in Thursday's other Semifinal.
The two winning teams on Thursday will advance to the 2026 Landmark Conference Championship match on Saturday, May 2 at 1:00 p.m. at the Central Pennsylvania Tennis Center in Williamsport to determine the conference's automatic berth to the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament.
