Bulldogs begin spring season at UConn Invitational on Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After winning the Northeast Conference Championship and sweeping the league's major awards last year, the Bryant University women's tennis team opens spring season play at the UConn Invitational this weekend.

The Bulldogs welcome back key players, including reigning NEC Player of the Year junior Ryan Brown (Austin, Texas) and NEC Rookie of the Year sophomore Ashanti Campfield (Stratford, Conn.). Brown finished 9-7 at the No. 1 singles flight, including a perfect 3-0 record in the conference tournament. Campfield finished the year with a team-best 12-5 singles mark while defeating all league opponents (5-0).

Sophomores Briana Leonard (Westford, Mass.) and Linnea Sjoberg (Stockholm, Sweden) return in Black and Gold after earning All-NEC First Team honors at the No. 3 doubles slot, finishing 2-0 on the year.

Head coach Barbara Cilli also returns after adding to Bryant's sweep of major league awards, earning NEC Coach of the Year last season.

Cilli has put together a strong schedule for the Bulldogs, beginning at the UConn Invitational this weekend, before heading to Boston University the following week on Friday, Feb. 5. The Black and Gold host their first match the following day, Saturday, Feb. 6, against Brandeis at Rally Point in Greenville, R.I.

Bryant is set to take on in-state competitors Brown on Saturday, Feb. 20 and Rhode Island on Wednesday, April 6. The Bulldogs will stay regionally to battle Massachusetts on Saturday, April 9, and Hartford on Sunday, April 10.

Fairleigh Dickinson visits Smithfield on Saturday, March 26, for the Bulldogs' league opener, before Bryant heads to LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, April 2, for its second conference match of the season. The Black and Gold wrap up regular-season play, hosting NEC opponents Sacred Heart on Saturday, April 16, and Wagner on the following day. The final conference matches will lead up to the start of the NEC Tournament, beginning on Friday, April 22, in West Windsor, N.J.