FREE LIVE AUDIO – 8 p.m. match start time
 
DETROIT -- The Titan women's tennis team will begin the 2012 dual-match Sunday at the Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield. Detroit will welcome the Western Michigan Broncos at 8:00 p.m. For one-time only, the match will feature a free online audio stream of the match at RadioTennis.com.
 
“I'm looking forward to some close matches and how we're going to execute with our returning players,” said head coach Pjotrs Necajevs.
 
Necajevs was recently named the head coach of the team after takin over as the interim head coach last season. His first match saw Detroit post a 7-0 road victory over Valparaiso on March 26. Necajevs went on to lead the Titans to a 6-5 dual match record the rest of the way, including a third-place finish in the Horizon League playoffs.
 
“I think we have a good season coming up and our schedule is as strong as any team,” added Necajevs. “We have some tough matches, but I think we will be ready for them.”
 
A season ago, Detroit finished 6-18 overall and posted a 4-2 victory over Butler in the third place match of the HL tournament. Having a regular season 4-4 mark in conference play, the Titans entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed and matched-up with No. 4 seed Wright State in the first round. A 4-1 victory took Detroit into the semifinals for the fifth-straight year, but it was the eventual champion UIC who scored a 4-0 defeat over the Titans.
 
This season the roster will feature four returners and one newcomer as senior Amanda Cornwell leads the current group with 27 career singles wins and 32 double victories. The remaining roster of sophomore returners Raina Halabi, Julia Fernandes and Elena Strakhova, along with newcomer Chloe Karoub, round out this year's group of Titans.
 
Strakhova led last year's team in Horizon League play with a 5-3 singles record as four Titans posted four or more wins in Horizon League matches. Fernandes was part of the top Detroit pairing as her and last year's lone senior Erin Weldon combined for 11 wins on the year. Weldon became Detroit's all-time leader with 66 career doubles wins with an 8-4 tally over Butler, helping the Titans clinch third place in the Horizon League Tournament.

Western Michigan will open the 2012 dual-match season earlier on Sunday in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines before continuing on to Southfield where they will meet the Titans. The Broncos are led by head coach Betsy Kuhle, who is in her 30th year of coaching the team and has 489 career victories heading into Sunday's matches.

Sophomore Nini Sujashvili returns to the Western Michigan squad after being named the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2011 and First Team All-MAC.  Junior Maggie Remynse also earned conference honors being named to All-MAC Second Team. Last year, the Broncos fell in the conference semifinals to Akron after a 14-12 dual-match season.
 
Detroit will host Eastern Michigan on Friday at the Franklin Athletic Club in the second of three straight home matches in Southfield.