With three rained-out matches and a string of illnesses affecting the team, Massachusetts tennis coach Judy Dixon will look for her players to step up in singles play for a chance at a victory when the Minutewomen host Fordham on Wednesday.
“With the week layoff and cold weather approaching, this is where we need to rise above it and produce a solid performance,” Dixon said. “We’ve got a really talented group of players here, we’re just hitting the skids a bit.”
The team last competed on the weekend of Sept. 25 at the Eastern Collegiate Invitational at West Point, N.Y., posting positive results in both singles and doubles play. However, with the rained-out matches, including Wednesday against Connecticut and the flu bug hitting multiple players on the team, Dixon has an uncertain lineup to configure against the Rams.
“[Yuliana] Motyl has been battling some illness since arriving at UMass but I expect her to compete as the No. 2 in singles, bumping Julia [Comas] up to No. 1 for the time being,” Dixon said.
The rest of the lineup includes senior Candynce Boney at No. 3, with freshman Clara Matias, senior Kaitlyn Carpenter and freshman Jessica Podlofsky rounding out the top six.
The highly-touted Motyl still has the opportunity to improve her skills in the young and long season.
“She’s got the pedigree and is an extremely talented individual,” Dixon said. “She still has a couple of weeks to get her legs under her and to get in playing shape.”
Comas, who won the Type B singles championship at the EC Invitational, has gotten off to a terrific start this year, providing leadership and toughness to an already tough group of players.
“Julia has played beautifully thus far,” Dixon said. “She’s given us the shot in the arm early, which is exactly what we need going into play this week.”
Sending out three freshmen in the top six can be a risky decision but with the play of Podlofsky early on, Dixon believes the back end of the group is solid.
“Jess has made a huge difference for us early on,” Dixon said. “She’s a great asset to fill out the bottom of the singles, and I expect her to continue to grow and provide depth for us against our upcoming opponents.”
This will be the first chance this season for UMass to compete one-on-one against another school.
“We need to come out tough and on fire,” Dixon said. “It’s important to set the tone early with our veteran players, because if we can do that, we have the depth and talent to close the door once we get ahead.”
Dixon hopes to see her players slowly but surely build on the small amount of competition they’ve had, especially in doubles play.
“We’re not ready yet to compete at full force in doubles,” Dixon said. “With the inclement weather and sick bodies, I haven’t had a great feel yet of where to go for doubles, but we have some things currently in place that we feel can give us a fair chance.”
The doubles pairings against Fordham include the combination of seniors Tanisha Hodgson and Boney, followed by sophomore Jocelyn Providence and Carpenter, who together reached the Flight B doubles final at West Point.
Scott Cournoyer can be reached at [email protected].
