Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UMass Tennis drops a pair of dual matches

Alex Mojcher/Collegian

It was a tough weekend for the Massachusetts women’s tennis team as it suffered a pair of losses to in-state rivals Harvard and Boston College.

This past weekend’s action marked the first time the Minutewomen played a competitive match since the Big Green Invitation this past November, so the growing pains were expected.

They started off on Saturday, losing 6-1 in a dual match against No. 45 BC at the Bay Road Tennis Club in Amherst.

UMass coach Judy Dixon knew this match would be a tough one to win, adding that the Eagles might be the best team they would play all year.

“I was really satisfied with the way we competed against BC,” she said. “I felt that the overall team effort was there and we had some close matches against the No. 45 team in the country.”

Dixon was not as focused on the wins and losses against BC, but more on the fundamentals and improvements her players made over the winter break.

“I was pleased with our ability to adjust in certain singles matches where we lost the first set but battled back in the second,” said Dixon.

Dixon was a little more disappointed, however, with the Sunday showing at Harvard. The Crimson won the match 6-1, and Dixon wasn’t pleased with the inconsistency shown by the Minutewomen.

“Today versus Harvard was much more up and down. I feel that Harvard was a beatable team,,” said Dixon.

The lone bright spot for UMass was the continued success of freshman Chanel Glasper.

She provided the only win in both matches as she defeated BC’s Sarah Dalton in No. 6 singles in what turned out to be a marathon match, 6-7, 6-1, 10-7. Glasper moved up to No. 5 singles against Harvard and defeated Hannah Morrill, 7-5, 6-2.

Glasper has the best record for the Minutewomen at 12-3 overall on the season along with a 4-1 record in singles dual match play.

Dixon was very impressed by Glasper’s performance over the weekend and also was pleased by the strides that Julia Comas is making since an injury she suffered, which sidelined her for a portion of the season.

One area of emphasis that Dixon continued to stress was the importance of succeeding in the doubles matches. The Minutewomen doubles team failed to a register a win in over the weekend.

“No. 3 doubles played well but our other doubles needs some work,” said Dixon. “We need to come out much more aggressive in doubles with better moving, better serving and more aggressive returns,” said Dixon.

Dixon’s strategy for success going forward is to focus on winning the all-important doubles points along with a strong showing in No. 4-6 singles.

“We were too up and down overall. I expect to address our need to attack more in practice this week as we prepare for Columbia,” said Dixon.

The pair of loses mean that the Minutewomen now stand at 1-3 in dual match play, and 0-1 in A-10 play.

UMass will next play on Saturday against a tough Columbia squad in New York at 1 p.m.

Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_McDonough.

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