After a disappointing end to last season in the Big East playoffs, the University of Connecticut tennis team looked to turn over a new leaf and begin winning ways in the 2023 season. Unfortunately for the team, that was not meant to be, as the Huskies were completely overmatched by Boston College in a 7-0 rout. As a matter of fact, UConn could not even manage to pick up a set against a dominant Eagles squad, making it a frustrating loss for the Connecticut women.
UConn, despite starting last season quite strong, at one point finding themselves at 7-3 overall, ended the season a mediocre 9-11, losing eight of their last 10 meets. That did not deter them, however, from seeing some success in the playoffs; they managed to take a decisive 4-0 victory over Villanova in the first round of the conference tournament before getting swept 0-4 in the next round by St. John’s University. Hoping to wash that sour taste out of their mouths and enter a new season with new hopes and expectation, the women looked to make the Friday meet in Chestnut Hill a competitive one, but the might of the BC Eagles would not allow it.
From the offset, it seemed as though UConn could not get any momentum going. It showed throughout the day, as they lost all three of their doubles matches to kick things off. Both teams of Olivia Wright and Maria Constantinou (doubles 1) and Aleksandra Karamyshe and Isabel Petri Bere (doubles 2) kept in stride with their opponents by totaling 6-4 scores each, but it only went downhill from there. Doubles 3 lost 6-2, and BC’s singles 1 and 2, Marice Aguiar and Seren Agar, respectively, trounced their UConn counterparts, Wright and Constantinou. Karamyshe had the most competitive set of the singles portion of the event, a match against the Eagles’ singles 3 Stephanie Sanchez, but still fell in two sets, 7-5 and 7-6. There was no resistance left for the Huskies’ lineup to muster, as Bere, Caroline Cook, and Cameron Didion all lost in two sets just like everyone before them, sealing Connecticut’s weekend as one that went completely sideways.
There is no shame in this loss for the Huskies, though; Boston College has regularly dominated UConn. Their loss in Chestnut Hill will hopefully serve as a reminder that there is more work to be put in over the course of the season, and that getting back up from a brutal loss like this will make them stronger. The Huskies hope to use this experience to propel them to a win in their next meet against Fairfield University on Wednesday in Manchester, Connecticut.
