As the University of Connecticut tennis team takes one step forward, it seems as though they get pushed two steps back. The team is continues to get more than they can handle, facing three even opponents over the course of the last week, only beating one: Villanova on Saturday, 4-1. Besides that, they’ve struggled, dropping their Wednesday meet with Sacred Heart 2-5 and their Sunday meet with Georgetown, 3-4. They’ve struggled to play consistently, which shows through those matches.
First was their match against local Connecticut rival Sacred Heart University. The battle started off well for the Huskies, as they managed to take the doubles point thanks to 6-4 victories from both 2-doubles (Maria Constantinou and Caroline Cook) and 3-doubles (Denise Lai and Doga Selen Takunyaci). Constantinou also won her 1-singles match handedly over the Pioneers’ best player, 6-3 6-2. The problem was that the rest of the singles matches did not match the same energy. With Cameron Didion not playing, the Huskies could not build any further momentum, failing to take another set. The brightest light on the other side of the courts was probably Aina Garriga, Sacred Heart’s 3-singles, who cruised her way to a victory with 6-3 and 6-3 set wins. The Huskies mustered all the energy they could, but Sacred Heart managed to overwhelm them by the end of the day.
Connecticut’s weekend started much better, however, when they took on the Villanova Wildcats. They cruised to an easy victory in doubles, as Constantinou and Takunyaci paired to defeat their foe 6-2 and Didion returned to play, teamed with Lai, to also triumph 6-2. The singles sets also went as smoothly as they could possibly go, as Constantinou, Didion and Aleksandra Karamyshev took easy victories to seal the deal and guide UConn to a comfortable victory. The Huskies were dominant, and the Wildcats did not offer too much resistance. It looked like they were taking steps in the right direction.
Unfortunately, as has been the nature of their season, that momentum was immediately halted when they faced Georgetown. For the first time in the week, they could not take the doubles point, and right then, it seemed like it was over. Constantinou, Didion and Karamyshev fought hard to win singles sets and make it closer, but the Hoyas were too much, and any forward progress the Huskies made was halted.
It was an unfortunate week for UConn, as they should have at least come out of it with a positive record. Despite this, this team does not give up, and it does not seem like these losses will phase them. They’ll have a chance to see how true that statement really is when they take on Xavier on Friday in another Big East showdown just before the beginning of the tournament season.
