The team will be without one of its up-and-coming freshman, Yuliana Motyl, as she continues to battle illness since the start of the fall season. UMass coach Judy Dixon is confident in the depth of her top six in singles, the strength of this year’s squad.
“We’re not all there yet in terms of playing a great overall match,” Dixon said. “We’re slowly taking a step forward every day, which is always positive to see, but we need to continue to improve in all phases to be successful.”
Just as Dixon did against Fordham on Monday, sophomore Julia Comas will be penciled in as the No. 1 in singles against the Rams. She will also compete in doubles as the No. 1 pair alongside senior Candynce Boney, who will compete in singles as the No. 2.
“Julia’s a real competitor,” Dixon said. “She knows how to turn it on and compete in a match all the way through, so I think it’s important to get her involved in both singles and doubles … playing her with [Candynce] will hopefully give us an edge.”
After showing toughness in coming back against her opponent Monday in the Fordham match, freshman Clara Matias will compete as the No. 3 in singles, as well as teaming up with senior Tanisha Hodgson as No. 2 doubles.
“[Clara] really stepped up in a tight spot for us,” Dixon said. “She needs to continue to grow and improve, but she showed me something coming from behind in the first set and ultimately winning…it was nice to see, and I look for her to grow with every match.”
After only competing in doubles against the Rams due to illness, freshman Jessica Podlofsky will solely compete in singles play against URI, being tabbed as the No. 5. Podlofsky’s last singles match took place at the Eastern Collegiate Invitational late last month. She won five singles matches on her way to winning the Flight D finals, beating out West Virginia’s Melis Tanik in both sets, 7-5, 6-0.
“Jess will be good for us against Rhode Island,” Dixon said. “We knew how competitive she was coming in as a freshman. We just didn’t predict this sort of impact this early on…it’s nice to have her filling out the bottom of our lineup and provide us with more options.”
Senior Kaitlyn Carpenter and sophomore Jocelyn Providence round off the top six in singles, competing at the No. 4 and No. 6, respectably. The two will also team up as the No. 3 pair in doubles after their success against Fordham, where they won in a shutout, 8-0.
Providence stepped in as the No. 6 for Podlofsky against Fordham, coming away with a victory in two sets, 6-2, 6-0. Providence has provided Dixon flexibility in making late changes, such as she did against Fordham.
“[Jocelyn] was able to step in late for us in singles when I decided Jess wasn’t fully healthy,” Dixon said. “Having her as a late addition for singles provided the energy when we needed to carry through. She was great for us.”
Dixon hopes to see another step taken forward in respect to doubles play against the Rams.
“We’re getting there,” Dixon said. “I know it’s still the fall and very early, but these conference matches are important to get strategies and team play down, so as we move forward, we’re better prepared for what’s ahead.”
Scott Cournoyer can be reached at [email protected].
