Massachusetts tennis coach Judy Dixon was not surprised by the performance of her top doubles tandem last weekend.

Junior Yuliana Motyl and senior Chantal Swiszcz won the Flight A doubles title over Fordham sophomores Sarah Ali and Bella Genkina by a score of 8-6 at the West Point Invitational in West Point, N.Y., picking up where they left off after a strong season last spring.

Motyl and Swiszcz were the top doubles team in the Atlantic 10  last year, going  undefeated in conference play.  Because of that, Dixon has high expectations for her top duo – who are heading into their third year playing together.

Swiszcz also made it to the finals in Flight D singles, where she went up against fellow Minutewoman Chanel Glasper. However, Glasper won it in three sets, 6-7, 6-3, 10-7.

Seniors Jocelyn Providence and Julia Comas reached the Flight B doubles final, but lost to Rams junior Angelika Dabu and sophomore Julie Leong, 8-3. Junior Sonia Bokhari lost in two sets in the Flight A singles semifinals to Stony Brook senior Nini Lagvilava, 6-1, 6-1, but redeemed herself in the third place match by defeating Fairleigh Dickinson senior Anna Rapoport, 9-8.

Dixon said that the team did well – considering that it was only the second event of the year.

Minutewomen open regular season today

UMass’ first regular match of the season comes today at 3 p.m. against Providence.

Dixon said that fall matches are tricky for players to get motivated for, because they only count towards a team’s win-loss record and not towards a team’s national ranking.

“I think that the matches this time of year can be rough,” she said.

The Minutewomen defeated the Friars last season, 7-0. And Dixon believes that her team should be heavy favorites heading into today’s match, too, because Providence is a non-scholarship program.

But the players will have to remember how to “compete as a team,” according to Dixon, which is different from the way they competed individually in the prior tournaments.

“What we talk about is team first,” Dixon said. “We’ve talked about what each member’s role is, whether or not they’re starting. I think the more matches we play, the better we’ll be.”

Dixon said she thinks this year’s team is mature, as there is only one freshman, and she expects the team to make less rookie mistakes.

After the team’s second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 tournament last year – and with the additions of Butler and Virginia Commonwealth to the conference – Dixon said the goal for the season is to be in the top three in the conference.

Dixon also said that she’s hoping the team will beat some of the top 10 teams in the region this season, such as Dartmouth, Brown and Boston College, in non-conference play.

Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan can be reached at [email protected].