The Massachusetts tennis team won a huge Atlantic 10 matchup against the Richmond Spiders, 4-3. The victory helped the Minutewomen (7-5, 2-0 A-10) improve to a 2-0 record in the A-10 conference.
The match was tied up at 3-3 and it all came down to the singles match between Minutewomen sophomore Amelia Tye and Spiders (5-6, 0-2 A-10) freshman Abby Lee. The Richmond freshman claimed the first set, 6-2, in dominant fashion. The UMass sophomore stormed back in a close 7-5 second set victory to force a third set.
The third and final set of the day was a 6-1 blowout by Tye, securing the second straight victory for the Minutewomen.
“[We’ve] showed such toughness and togetherness, playing as one is something that we really have been emphasizing this year,” head coach Juancarlos Nunez said.
UMass senior Mariana Campino had another great day in singles, defeating Richmond’s Sofia Barbulescu in the first two sets with an identical score of 6-2. The senior put the ball out of reach for her opponent, creating multiple scoring opportunities in the front and back court.
Freshman Martina Pavissich played a very close match to Richmond’s Elizabeth Novak. The Minutewomen freshman showed grit and held on in the first two sets winning 6-4 and 7-5. Pavissich has shown immense improvement as the season has progressed for UMass.
Wind was a big factor in the matches and was the second time UMass has played outdoors this spring.
“You know indoor and outdoor tennis matches are almost two different sports,” Nunez said. “You have to deal with the wind, sun and it does affect the way the ball moves.”
The wind affected how the Minutewomen approached their serves as well.
“[We used a] high percentage approach to use the wind and really rely on our baseline,” Nunez said.
Although UMass lost in both doubles matches 6-3, junior Ella Faessler and her doubles partner Tye had a match that went unfinished, down 5-3 to Spider’s Sofia Barbulescu and Elizabeth Novak. The junior scored in the front court, returning a serve and spiking the ball with a hard hit.
Belle Jonglertrakul and Campino faced Richmond’s Lara Bakhaya and Andrea Campodonico in doubles. The Spiders kept spinning and won 6-3 in this match, but that did not stop UMass’ Jonglertrakul from scoring a big point. She ran to save a volley, softly hitting the ball in the front court on what looked like a potential Spiders’ score.
The Spiders answered with their own play, leaving Jonglertrakul running all over the court. The Richmond duo had great awareness to hit the ball out of reach of both UMass players, leaving the Minutewomen scrambling and scoring a clutch point for the Spiders.
Richmond found more success in singles thanks to the junior Lara Bakhaya. The junior won the first two sets against UMass’ Jonglertrakul with a score of 6-4 and 7-6. The second set kept going back and forth, but Bakhaya held down the fort to secure a point for the Spiders on the day.
Another strong point for Richmond was graduate student Claire Le Du’s singles match against Minutewomen freshman Owethu Makhanya. The grad student controlled both sets and held command with a 6-1 and 6-2 blowout win.
“‘Fight for energy and togetherness,’” Nunez emphasized to his team. “Playing as a team and playing as one is what they did [Sunday] in an amazing way.”
UMass will return home to host the Boston University Terriers on Friday, March 28, in search of another victory. The match is set to start at 2 p.m.
Brennan McGrevy can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @BMcgrevy .
