It has been a rough stretch for the UConn Women’s Tennis team as of late. The Huskies have dropped four matches in a row, with three of those losses coming in a decisive fashion. This week, however, UConn will have chances to snap their losing streak and build positive momentum as the regular season approaches its end.
After their last two matches on the road, the Huskies will return home to face Boston College on Tuesday, where they have notched a 5-3 record on the season thus far. UConn will rely on Julieanne Bou, as the senior will look to snap her own individual two game losing streak, falling to 15-10 on the season, a strong mark that sees her second on the team. She is behind sophomore Leonie Hoppe, who was able to win in the last match against Boston University, pushing her record to 16-9 and 8-2 in her last ten matches. Aleksandra Karamyshev and Denise Lai will look to return to their winning ways after dealing with cold streaks themselves, hoping to produce strong performances that can set UConn up for victory. They will have to do this against a Boston College team fresh off their best win of the season, a 7-0 domination over ACC opponent Louisville.
The Eagles are buoyed by a mix of underclassmen talent and veteran upperclassmen leadership. Graduates and seniors Natasha Irani, Plobrung Plipuech, Laura Lopez and Hailey Wilcox helped Boston College snap a long six-match losing streak of their own, aided by sophomores and freshmen Marice Aguiar, Sophia Edwards, Muskan Mahajan and Stephanie Sanchez, all having their impact on the Eagles’ season thus far. Despite breaking their losing streak against Lousiville, the Eagles have not had much success on the road, going 1-5 in away matches but maintaining a 3-2 record in out of conference play.
Following this matchup with BC, UConn will then travel to Providence on Wednesday afternoon to face Big East conference opponent Friars. Providence has had an up-and-down last two matches, dominating Bentley on the road last Thursday before getting shut out in Washington DC against Georgetown, 7-0. In the matchup against Bentley, five out of the six Friar singles match victories came in straight sets, highlighted by freshman Lauren Carson’s strong performance in Singles No. 5, winning her match in straight sets without dropping a single game. Another Providence freshman, Olivia Wright, anchored the team with a great showing in Singles No. 1, winning 6-2, 6-0. Unlike Boston College, it is interesting to note that in the match against Bentley, not one of the Friars was older than a sophomore. This emphasizes the strength of the Providence future, with aspirations to improve on their 4-9 record overall, and build a solid foundation for the incoming seasons. UConn will face the Friars in Providence, where they are 3-3 on the year. This is the last conference home game Providence will play all season, with the Huskies looking to get their road record up to .500 on the year.
Tuesday’s match with Boston College will be at 2:30 p.m. in Storrs, before a quick turnaround in Providence on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
