The Massachusetts tennis team lost five of its six matches in singles play Thursday against Connecticut en route to losing 5-2 at the Mullins Center Courts in Amherst.
The Minutewomen got off to a fast start in the match, winning all three of their doubles matches to take the initial point, but struggled in the second leg of the matchup.
UMass’ reputable No. 1 doubles pair of Carol Benito and Ana Yrazusta shined in their doubles match victory, narrowly edging out the Huskies’ Jacquelyn Fitz-Randolph and Srna Stosljevic.
In a match that required three sets, it was a powerful ace by Benito that sealed the match point for the pair in an 8-7 result.
The Minutewomen also capitalized on their other doubles matches, with the pairs of Ruth Crawford and Anna Woosley (8-6) and Arielle Griffin and Laura Moreno (8-5) prevailing.
Dixon said she was happy to see the team’s success in doubles play from last season carry over into Thursday’s match.
“The goal was to start off by winning the doubles point which we were able to accomplish,” Dixon said.
However, the Huskies bounced back to dominate in singles competition and clinch the win.
UConn came close to sweeping UMass in all six singles competitions, with Woosley providing the lone win for the Minutewomen 7-6, 7-6 in the No. 3 singles slot.
Following the loss, Dixon credited UConn’s depth as a factor that played into the Minutewomen’s struggles.
“We knew going into this match that UConn was deep and I think we saw that on display in their singles play, their strength lies in their ability to produce from any position” UMass coach Judy Dixon said.
Before Thursday, the two teams last faced off last year in Storrs, Connecticut, where UMass pulled off a dramatic second half rally to take the match 5-2.
Following their stay at the West Point Invitational last weekend, this was the Huskies’ fourth match of the season. For UMass, it was its second match coming off last weekend’s Brown Invitational. But Thursday marked both teams’ first dual competition of 2015.
Following the loss, UMass now finds itself on hiatus from match play for the moment, facing a two-week break until play picks back up against Providence College on Oct. 15. The match will be played in Amherst.
The Minutewomen normally practice outside until the cold weather approaches, so they will be taking their training to the Bay Road Tennis Club at Hampshire College in their two weeks off.
Chris Martinez can be reached at [email protected].
