NEW HAVEN, Conn./PROVIDENCE, R.I.—No. 35 ranked Columbia women's tennis travels to New England for two key road matches this weekend at Yale (Saturday) and at Brown (Sunday). First-serve for both respective matches is at 1 p.m. ET. According to Brown, Sunday's match at Brown will be streamed live on ESPN3.
 
Columbia enters the weekend on a school-record 12-match win streak and 12-1 overall record. After dropping its first dual match of the year to No. 24 ranked Syracuse, Columbia has won 12 straight. Last weekend, the Lions won their first Ivy League match, a 4-0 win at Cornell.
 
Columbia opens its Ivy League schedule with three straight road matches: at Cornell (March 30), at Yale (April 6) and at Brown (April 7).
 
The Lions are in pursuit of their second Ivy League Championship in program history after winning the title in 2013. Columbia is also working toward is fourth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance (2013, 2014 and 2016).
 
Next week, Columbia hosts No. 37 ranked Princeton on Friday, April 12 (1 p.m.), then Penn on Sunday, April 14 (1 p.m.). Both matches will be played at Dick Savitt Tennis Center.
 
SCOUTING YALE
 
Yale is 1-0 in the Ivy League after last weekend's 4-1 win over Brown. The Bulldogs are 9-8 overall in dual matches. Earlier this year, Columbia defeated Yale 4-2 on Feb. 8 in the first round of the ECAC Championship. The Bulldogs' doubles duo of Jessie Gong and Samantha Martinelli enters the weekend rated No. 73 nationally in the ITA rankings. Martinelli occupies the No. 1 singles slot in the lineup. Columbia has won each of its last three matches vs. Yale.
 
SCOUTING BROWN
 
Brown enters the weekend on a three-match losing streak with an 0-1 Ivy League record following a 4-1 loss to Yale. The Bears are 8-9 overall. Brown hosts Cornell on Saturday. During spring competition, Brown has been led by No. 1 singles player Maddie Stearns (9-12), Alyza Benotto (10-11), Devon Jack (12-4), Juliana Simon (9-11), Taylor Cosme (10-8). Columbia has won five of its last seven matches against Brown.
 
COLUMBIA GAME NOTES
 
*No. 35 ranked Columbia (12-1) has won a school-record 12 consecutive matches. The Lions' only loss came to No. 24 ranked Syracuse on the first match of the year.
 
*Seven Lions have won 10 or more singles matches: Akanksha Bhan (17-4), Christie Wan (15-4), Jennifer Kerr (15-10), Melissa Sakar (17-6), Yekaterina Alferova (11-7), Sarah Hu (12-5) and Andrea Kevakian (13-3). Sakar and Wan have both won seven consecutive matches. In doubles, Bhan and Paulina Ferrari are 12-5, Wan and Andrea Kevakian are 13-7 and Kerr and Hu have an 11-4 record. Overall, Columbia is 130-51 in singles matches (71.8 winning percentage) and 54-27 in doubles matches (66.7 win percentage).
 
*According to tennisrecruiting.net, Columbia welcomed the nation's No. 12 ranked incoming 2018 recruiting class in September. The four newcomers include first-years Melissa Sakar, Akanksha Bhan, Yekaterina Alferova and Caitie Sullivan. All four were ranked among the nation's top-100 players in the 2018 tennisrecruiting.net class: Sakar (No. 18), Bhan (No. 28), Alferova (No. 35) and Sullivan (No. 75).
 
*Head Coach Ilene Weintraub, CC '02 is in her 12th season at the helm of the Columbia women's tennis program. The winningest coach in school history, Weintraub guided the Lions to their first Ivy League Championship in 2013, led the program to a top-40 national ranking in 2016, captured three ECAC Championships (2014, 2016, 2019) and has recruited three national top-15 recruiting classes (No. 6 in 2015, No. 10 in 2017 and No. 12 in 2018) and four national top-20 recruiting classes in the last five years to Columbia. She was named the ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. Weintraub is joined by first-year assistant coach AJ Nelson and volunteer assistant coach Carlos Carrera.