After playing .500 as a team over the season’s first six months, the Massachusetts tennis team appears to be gaining a rhythm. The Minutewomen provided a sturdy performance during their defeat of Sacred Heart, 6-1, on Senior Day, this past Sunday.

“We played a strong match all the way through,” said UMass coach Judy Dixon.

The Minutewomen (12-8, 3-0 Atlantic 10) started the match off solid with the tandem of Candynce Boney and Tanisha Hodgson beating Elizabeth Harrington and Kristina Chao, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles. Jessica Podlofsky and Kaitlyn Carpenter also delivered an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles. The No. 1 doubles duo of Yuliana Motyl and Chantal Swiszcz rounded out the day with a defeat of Gabi Kalden and Darcy Demers, 8-6. The doubles domination gave UMass the first lead of the match.

The start of singles play saw No. 1 Julia Comas beat Kate Donnelly 6-1, 6-1.Comas, a sophomore from Spain who evened her No. 1 singles record to 2-2 on the year, gave UMass momentum and extended the lead. The Minutewomen would go on to win four of the five remaining singles matches which included wins for Motyl, Podlofsky, Swiszcz and Carpenter.

The only player to lose her singles match was Boney, despite being one of the most productive players during her time at UMass.

“We would like to forget her match, the moment of playing her final home match and Senior Day affected her,” said Dixon.

The senior has won a number of singles and doubles matches in her career and hopes to continue her winning ways in the A-10 tournament. Boney, however, has been slowed down by a shoulder injury she sustained and she “plays in pain, is limited in how much she can practice weekly and does not serve until matches,” according to Dixon. The effects of this injury were seen Sunday when Dixon had to take an injury timeout for Boney to fix the shoulder brace she has been wearing. With rest though, the team is confident that Boney will be ready for the A-10 tournament.

The win against Sacred Heart gives UMass three consecutive wins, with the team also defeating Fairfield and St. Bonaventure. This puts the Minutewomen in great position for the A-10 tournament as they will take a winning streak into the postseason.

“There is a high confidence level, the girls know that this is as wide open of an A-10 championship as can be,” said Dixon.

The seeds for the tournament were recently set. The top two seeds for the tournament are Richmond and Temple and both teams will receive a first-round bye. Richmond has dominated the playoffs in recent years, winning six of the last seven championships. UMass received the No. 7 seed, right where Dixon predicted the team would be slotted. This means that the Minutewomen will face No. 10 Fordham this Friday.

On Oct. 11, UMass and Fordham faced off in Amherst. The Minutewomen defeated the Rams 5-2 in that match, their first dual match of the season. Both teams have changed since their first meeting with UMass moving players in and out of different singles spots and using different doubles combinations.

The morale is high for the Minutewomen and they know that they have a chance to defeat the Rams.

“We’re excited and right now all were doing is focusing on Fordham,” said Dixon.

Matt Catizone can be reached at [email protected].