The Massachusetts tennis team split its two-game weekend matches at the Bay Road Tennis Center. On Friday, March 28, the Minutewomen (8-6, 3-0 Atlantic 10) hosted Boston University and lost 4-2.
The Terriers (7-7, 3-0 Patriot League) found success in doubles and most singles matches, but UMass senior Belle Jonglertrakul and sophomore Amelia Tye secured the two wins on the day for Massachusetts.
“This whole weekend we knew it was going to be another challenging weekend,” head coach Juancarlos Nunez said. “BU is a very good team and is having a really good season, that was a really close [matchup] that came down to small margins on a few courts.”
BU did make it challenging for the Minutewomen, but Jonglertrakul won her first two sets against Madison Liu 6-3 and 7-6 (6), respectively. The senior’s second set was a longer, hard-fought one, but she ultimately came away with the win.
Tye defeated the Terrier’s Emily Zhao, 6-2 and 7-6 (5) in another close, second set victory for UMass. While the Minutewomen found some success against a tough opponent, other UMass players struggled.
Mariana Campino usually plays very well in singles but was crushed 6-2 and 6-1 by Uma Bakaityte. Former Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, Ella Faessler, was off her game in her Friday match as well, with a 6-3 and 6-2 loss to BU’s Gabriella Mikaul.
The Terriers continued to dominate even more in singles. Rhea Rai won 6-1 in both sets against Minutewomen’s Martina Pavissich. Nina Gulbransen also won 6-1 in the first set versus UMass’ Owethu Makhanya, but the second set went unfinished 1-0 in favor of Gulbransen.
“Playing a good team like BU was going to prepare [UMass] for the fight we were going to have [Sunday] against Davidson,” Nunez said.
Nunez would appear to be correct as the Minutewomen dominated the Wildcats (10-6,0-3 A-10) 4-0.
The victory for Massachusetts was captured by Faessler in her close singles matchup against Savanna Kollock. The first set would go in favor of the junior, 6-4, as Kollock kept hitting the ball out of bounds. The second set was all Kollock as she put the ball in places that made Faessler hit it into the net multiple times. Kollock won set No. 2, 6-2.
The third and final set was very close. Faessler kept going back and forth, exchanging scores with Kollock. The junior stood her ground and secured the final point to clinch the victory for UMass, winning the set 6-4. She was fired up and got the Massachusetts home crowd fired up too.
“I feel like I played pretty well and stayed mentally strong, which is really important,” Faessler said. “I served well, but I had a couple of missed opportunities in the second set, but overall I’m happy with how I played.”
The Minutewomen also found success in their other singles matches. On court No. 4, Tye faced off against Ellie Hammond. Tye hit the net on returns from serves and frustration bloomed for her. She turned that frustration into fuel and the sophomore won the first set in a close 6-4 score and cruised by in the second set with a 6-2 victory to clinch a point for UMass.
“I took a [break] and saw Amelia come off court,” Faessler said. “I saw she won and that gave me a lot of motivation going into [my] third set. I wanted that 4-0 win and I was not going to be [the reason we didn’t sweep Davidson.]”
Success for the Minutewomen can be attributed to how competitive they are and how they feed off each other when playing well. For Massachusetts, Campino bounced back after losing her singles match on Friday. She won both sets 6-4 and 6-1 against Davidson’s Kavya Patel.
The senior put the ball out of reach for Patel many times, creating scoring opportunities. Campino was visibly excited after Patel hit the ball into the net, which secured a score for UMass. Campino didn’t just see success in singles on the day as she and Jonglertrakul dominated Patel and Daniela Porges 6-0 in doubles.
Jonglertrakul scored on the edge of the left side of midcourt for the Minutewomen. Campino was fired up after seeing her doubles partner’s lethal serve that earned them many points during the match.
“Today we showed we put the BU loss behind us,” Nunez said. “We were 100 percent present and ready to go against Davidson.”
The win against the Wildcats marks the last time during the regular season that UMass hosts an A-10 opponent while still being in the conference.
“We closed that chapter in a good way with a 4-0 win,” Nunez said. “Those [A-10] conference matches always have a little extra juice to them and they’re always fun. It’s been a pleasure to have those matches here at home.”
The Minutewomen will look to build on this win when they host Bryant on Friday, April 4 at 2 p.m.
Brennan McGrevy can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @BMcgrevy
