A select group of players of the Massachusetts tennis team traveled to New Haven, Conn. to participate in the Intercollegiate Tennis Regionals tournament. Yuliana Motyl and Chantal Swiszcz paired up in doubles, while Jessica Podlofsky and Julia Comas competed in singles. Sonia Bokhari was also entered, but did not play.
For the Minutewomen, Swiszcz returned to the court for only her second time since suffering a wrist injury that has sidelined her since mid-September. Swiszcz last played with Motyl at the Harvard Classic, where they reached to the finals in a losing effort.
In the opening round, the pairing matched up against No. 4 Penn State’s Sol Eskenaz and Jamie Yapp-Shing. In a lengthy match, UMass outlasted Penn 9-7 to advance.
Next in line were Binghamton’s Jillian Santos and Missy Edelblum. Swiszcz and Motyl advanced over the Bearcats, 8-4, into the Round of 16.
No. 9 Cornell was next on the docket for the Minutewomen duo as they suffered a 6-8 loss to the Big Red in a close match.
Motyl’s two victories put her in a position to secure a .500 record before the fall season concludes. After claiming two victories in Cambridge and beginning 2-1 earlier this fall, Motyl has failed to win another match in either singles or doubles. The two wins improve her to 5-3 in doubles play and 7-8 overall.
In singles play, Podlofsky and Comas combined for only one victory over the weekend.
Podlofsky entered the tournament with a 9-1 overall record this fall, including an 8-0 record in tournament play. Her only loss came against Fordham on Sept. 9.
Podlofsky was bounced in the first round, losing to Boston University’s Monica Mikal,2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Comas claimed the lone victory for UMass in singles, defeating Brown’s Ariel Caldwell, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round. Comas then matched up against No. 11 Blair Seideman of Yale, whom she fell to in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
Comas entered the second-round match on a three-match winning streak, the longest current streak on the team. For the second straight event, both in tournament and dual-match play, Comas was the only player on the team to record a singles victory. With the win, Comas improves to 7-4 in singles play this fall. She’ll look to carry that momentum in to the Big Green Invitational to close out the fall season.
The Big Green Invite runs from Nov. 4-6 in Hanover, N.H. The Minutewomen will then be off the courts until they host Boston College at the tail end of January.
Jeffrey Okerman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Okerman.
