UConn Tennis. (File Photo/The Daily Campus)
The UConn men’s tennis team has their last match of their current stretch of home play this Saturday, as they prepare to face the Villanova Wildcats in Manchester.
The Huskies (7-5, 0-1 The American) have won their last two contests and four of their last five while Villanova is coming off a tough loss against Morgan State University. The key for both teams’ successes has been their doubles teams.
For UConn, their number one duo of sophomore Yili Zheng and Senior Hank Hill have won 18 matches this season, including their last four as the top pair. They have found a rhythm that no one has had an answer for and are hopeful for that success to continue against one of their toughest opponents of this home stretch.
The Wildcats (5-2, 1-0 Big East) have a powerhouse of their own when it comes to No. 1 doubles. Senior Thomas Dodson and junior Tyler Roth have won six of their seven doubles matches on the year, their lone loss coming in the team’s 6-1 loss to Drexel. They are a force to be reckoned with and should be a tough challenge for Zheng and Hill.
However, when it comes to the singles matchups between the Huskies and the Wildcats you do not see the same consistent dominance.
On the Huskies side, UConn’s No. 1 and No. 2 of Zheng and sophomore John Michael Hartmann walked away with victories, but in the match prior against Fairfield University, neither were able to come out on top, rather the Huskies remaining singles matches were forced to win their own games to get the overall victory.
For the Wildcat’s they suffer the same inconsistency when it comes to their singles players. Their No. 2 and No. 3 singles players have only won one of their last three matches, while No. 1 Stefan Suarez has been kept winless over their last three.
While the doubles matches will certainly be the games to watch, this matchup is going to come down to which team’s singles players can step up and win. The Huskies are hopeful that they will be able to use the momentum going into this match to finish on top once again and keep their winning streak alive in what should be an excellent contest.
Conner Gilson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at conner.gilson@uconn.edu.
