After rattling off five consecutive match victories in a row, the UConn women’s tennis team struggled this past weekend, falling two days in a row to Army and St. John’s, both at home. This was a difficult stretch for the Huskies, who lost by a combined score of 13-1.
UConn will attempt to snap its two-game skid on Wednesday afternoon, as it takes on the Bryant Bulldogs in a non-conference matchup in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Bryant has had a good month of March thus far, winning four of its six matches, including a victory over Big East opponent Providence, 5-2, on March 20.
A bright spot for UConn in a tough weekend was the performance of Leonie Hoppe in Singles No. 2. The sophomore from Munich, Germany, battled against St. John’s Lalita Devarakonda, notching the lone point of the weekend for the Huskies in a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 victory. The win pushed Hoppe to a team-best 15-9 overall record on the season, and she has now won seven of her last 10 matches.
Bryant is led by Ada Boru, who has played all of her matches in Singles No. 1. The senior from Turkey is 3-8 overall on the season and 5-4 in Doubles matches when partnered with Leanne Kendall; all of these matches came at the No. 1 level. Kendall has had the most recent success for the Bulldogs, winning her last two matches. Manuela Estrada, has won her last two matches and pushed her individual record to .500 on the year.
The Huskies will look to break their second multiple-match losing streak of the season. They are eager to build momentum two weeks before a string of conference matches that will send them on the road for three Big East battles in a row.
UConn and Bryant will play in Smithfield, Rhode Island, at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30. Bryant is 5-3 at home and 5-4 in non-conference matchups.], while UConn is 2-1 on the road and 6-4 in non-conference matchups.
