Looking to bounce back after dropping its last two matches, the UConn women’s tennis team battled Stony Brook in a dual match at Manchester’s Magic Lincer Tennis Club.
The Huskies got off to a great start in their doubles matches. It was a mix of youth and experience in the No. 1 doubles, as senior Julieanne Bou and sophomore Leonie Hoppe emerged victorious against Stony Brook’s Mathilde Sreeves and Loreto Villaba Rubio, winning 6-2. This momentum carried over for UConn’s next two doubles showdowns, as the Huskies won doubles No. 2, led by Aleksandra Karamyshev and Isabel Petri Bere, who took care of business against Chandrika Joshi and Kristine Theyes. From there, the completion of the sweep came courtesy of juniors Caroline Cook and Denise Lai in No. 3 doubles, taking down Sara AnnaMaria Medved and Carmen Victoria Villalba Rubio 6-3.
The singles matches were more of the same for the Huskies, as they won five out of the six against Stony Brook. The Seawolves got their only singles victory on the back of Sreeves, who battled back from a first-set loss to win the No. 1 singles match over Bou, at a mark of 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The rest of the matches, however, were controlled and dominated by UConn.
Falling in the first set 6-7 and 10-12 in the tiebreaker, Hoppe came out on top in a grueling No. 2 singles battle against Villaba Rubio, winning the next sets 7-5 and 10-7. Singles matches No. 3-6, however, were never in doubt.
Karamyshev took care of business against Joshi in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 in singles No. 3. The theme of straight set victories became apparent in the subsequent matches. Cook took down Theyes 6-2, 6-4 in singles No. 4, with Petri Bere following suit against AnnaMaria Medved 6-4, 6-0. In singles No. 6, Denise Lai completed the UConn bounce back with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Aradhana Jayakrishna. The Huskies defeated Stony Brook 6-1, to move to .500 on the season at a record of 2-2.
The win was much needed for UConn, after it was swept by Rutgers last time on the court. The Huskies improved their cumulative singles record to over .500 on the season at 47-44, with their doubles mark following suit at 23-20. Despite the victory, Bou has dropped three singles matches in a row, but will have an opportunity to break the losing streak next time out for the Huskies, as they take on Long Island University in Bethpage, New York, at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25.
