In case Dartmouth wasn’t a big enough challenge last week (a 7-0 loss), the Massachusetts tennis team gets another shot today at the No. 75 team in the country when it travels to Boston College.
The Minutewomen will take the court against the Eagles today at 5 p.m. for another non-conference dual match.
The Maroon and White hope to halt a downward skid that started with a 7-0 loss to Dartmouth last week, and continued with a close 4-3 loss to Army.
UMass coach Judy Dixon acknowledged that this week will be a challenge and that the team will have to go through some growing pains in order to be at peak performance when conference play starts.
“Tomorrow is going to be a difficult match for us, but I keep telling the team that the most important part of the season is the conference matchups,” said Dixon. “All these matches serve to make us stronger and better by giving us match play experience of a very high quality.”
The Minutewomen are a very young squad – currently three out of the six singles players are freshman. This youth can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
“They don’t know what to expect and they don’t take anything for granted,” said Dixon. “They don’t have any preconceived notions about who’s good, or who we should lose to. They go into every match with a certain level of enthusiasm and that’s the good news.”
“On the other side of it,” continued Dixon. “Because they’re freshman, their confidence hasn’t had a chance to build up and when we start the year with a very top-quality schedule, rather then easing into the year, their confidence can go down because they don’t have any experience underneath them to hold up.”
Getting matched up against high level competition right away can be a challenge, but freshman Candynce Boney has proven herself to be ready for the collegiate level.
She has a 6-2 record in match play this season as an individual and earned both the Atlantic 10 rookie of the week and player of the week honors. This is her second straight week as the conference’s top rookie. After her third week in the spring season, she began playing in the second singles position behind Masha Pozar. Boney has been described as the go-to player and should help carry the Maroon and White today.
“I expected big things from her, but I’m always cautious about [an athlete’s] freshman year,” said Dixon. “I’m continuing to watch her grow. As with every freshman, it’s just a matter of being mature in match play. I’m very pleased with her and I expect she will continue to have a very good season.”
One player that Dixon hopes will step up this weekend is the Minutewomen’s top singles player Masha Pozar. As the leader of the team with a veteran presence, her performance will be critical to the Maroon and White’s effort to pull off the upset.
“I’m hoping for a really strong effort from her in the next two or three matches,” said Dixon.
Dixon believes that the key to defeating BC will be the play of her freshman. If they can manage a few upsets alongside a strong performance by Pozar, the Minutewomen’s strong doubles play may be enough for an impressive road upset.
Scott Feldman can be reached at [email protected]
