Today’s matchup between the Massachusetts tennis team and Brown University pits two teams going in opposite directions. The Minutewomen are on a four-game losing streak, while Brown has gone 4-0 over the same span.

UMass (3-6) is in Providence, R.I., to try to snap both streaks and reverse its negative momentum when it faces Brown (5-4). Play begins at 3 p.m.

After Brown, UMass heads back to Amherst to face Siena this Saturday at noon in one of its few home games this month.

The Minutewomen’s last matchup is one they would like to forget. Last week, Boston College shut out UMass, 7-0, in a dominant performance. This was the most recent loss in a four-game skid that included losses to Army (4-3), Dartmouth (7-0) and Cornell (4-3).

Meanwhile, the Bears have played well of late. After starting out the year 1-4, Brown has been excellent in its previous four games, defeating strong teams in Boston University (6-1), Rhode Island (7-0), Bucknell (7-0) and Syracuse (6-1).

History is not on the Minutewomen’s side; Brown boasts a 13-0 record against UMass dating back to 1980.

If performance against a common opponent is an indicator, the Minutewomen are in trouble. UMass was shut out when it faced BC, but when Brown faced the Eagles on Feb. 10, the lost, 4-3.

To avoid stretching their losing streak to five games, the Minutewomen must get solid play from their top two singles positions. Freshman Candynce Boney, who plays in the second singles position, has been a revelation in her first year. She has gone 6-3 in singles matches against top-flight competition and has earned three awards for her play this season. She has been named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for Feb. 19-26, in addition to being named Rookie of the Week twice. Boney will likely face off against Brown’s junior Sara Mansur in a key matchup.

Each player has faced off against BC’s Dasha Cherkasov; Boney took her to the brink in the first set losing 7-6(2), but was swept 6-0 in the second set. When Mansur faced Cherkasov, she lost 6-3 in consecutive sets. If Boney can play Mansur as well as she played Cherkasov in the first set, she has a strong chance to get UMass a point.

Masha Pozar has been the top singles performer for the Minutewomen this season, but it’s been an up-and-down few months for the Slovenian senior. Pozar is 4-5 on the season and is coming off of a 6-1, 6-1 loss against BC’s Lana Krasnopolsky. This weekend her most likely opponent will be Bianca Aboubakare, who lost to Krasnopolsky 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Pozar will have to be in top form to bring UMass a point closer to the upset.

Including today’s road match, the Minutewomen will be on the road for eight of their next 11 games.

Scott Feldman can be reached at [email protected].