The Massachusetts women’s tennis team will return to the courts this weekend with a pair of challenging matches against regional rivals Boston College and Harvard.
UMass had a very positive showing throughout the fall season, which serves as a warm up to its main season, spring. The Minutewomen participated in four tournaments: the Harvard Fall Classic, the Eastern Collegiate Invitational, the ITA Regional’s and the Big Green Invitational, along with two dual matches that resulted in a win over Connecticut and a loss at Fordham.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was the singles play of Jessica Podlofsky, who won her flight championship in both the HFC and the ECI. Her doubles partner, Chanel Glasper, also had an impressive fall presentation, reaching her flight final at the HFC and winning her flight at the ECI.
Much of the fall is for the coaches to find out who their top players are and where to seed them. Dynamic duo Yuliana Motyl and Chantal Swiszcz claimed the No. 1 doubles pairing for UMass.
The Minutewomen also had strong representation in singles and doubles play from Jocelyn Providence, Julia Comas and Sonia Bokhari this past season.
UMass will have to shake out kinks, however, because it hasn’t had a competitive tennis match since the Big Green Invitational at Dartmouth College during the weekend of Nov. 4.
“I expect that things could be a bit rough at the start of the match, but I believe that we will play ourselves into the match as it progresses,” said UMass coach Judy Dixon.
UMass will have to wear off the rust quickly with No. 45 Boston College on tap on Saturday.
The Eagles present a tough challenge for the Minutewomen, as BC is one of the premier women’s tennis programs in New England.
Dixon knows the Eagles may be the best team the Minutewomen will face this year..
“We will set realistic goals for both of these matches; footwork, proper shot selection and mental toughness as well as serving well,” she said.
When sizing up her competition, Dixon noted that BC is strong in both singles and doubles play. Alex Kelleher, Jessica Wacnik and Erina Kikuchi – who are all ranked in the top 11 in the region – represent BC in singles play, coupled with a pair of foremost doubles teams.
The Eagles are coming off of a tough weekend of competition, defeating No. 56 Dartmouth and losing a close match to No. 53 Brown.
It doesn’t get much easier from there, however, as the Minutewomen will have to face competitive Harvard on Sunday. The Crimson is going through a tough time with injuries. Singles and doubles player Holly Cao is out for the entire fall season, but she may return for Sunday’s matchup. UMass faced some of Harvard’s lineup early this fall at the Harvard Invitational.
The Minutewomen will be a woman down this weekend as freshman Hazuki Onaga is out after surgery to repair her ACL. Dixon is hopeful she will return by the end of February after completing rehabilitation, as she believes Onaga will be a key singles player in the future.
Despite the layoff and the injuries, Dixon believes in her team.
“No challenge is too big for this team, and I expect that we will scrap and claw as usual. I am interested to see how we compete and who steps up to the challenge,” said Dixon. “It’s a long season and I am looking for us to improve with each match.”
Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.
