After inching away a win at home against Quinnipiac University on Wednesday, the Huskies hoped to defeat fellow Big East foe Xavier on Saturday night, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Instead, they were swept by the Musketeers, losing the match 7-0.
Marie Constantinou returned for the Huskies after suffering an injury against the Bobcats on Wednesday with her first doubles partner, Olivia Wright. The two juniors looked to dominate against Xavier but fell short with a 7-4 loss.
After that loss, it went completely downhill for Connecticut, as the Musketeers took all six points from the singles and an additional point from the doubles competitions.
In the singles competition, freshman Caroline Hinshaw tried to rally a win in the fourth singles, but her opponent Abigail Siminski won the second set 6-4, then the 10-point tie-breaker 10-8.
Wright and Constantinou took first and second singles losses 6-4 and 6-2. Junior Isabel Petri Bere lost her third singles match 6-2. In the fifth and sixth singles, Cameron Didion and Isabel Asenov lost their matches 6-0 and 6-1.
Historically, the Huskies haven’t had the best of luck against the Musketeers as they are now 0-2 against the program going back to their first match against each other on April 7, 2023.
“We played some good doubles to start but came up just a little short. Xavier had some very smart doubles teams that forced us out of some of our strengths. In the singles matches, we saw how a top team was relentless with their approach to every single point.” Coach Glenn Marshall noted after the match.
The Xavier women’s tennis team is known for their dominance and consistency of their play at every position as they sit at the top of the Big East. Even though the team was not happy with how the match ended up this weekend, Marshall is optimistic as it lets the team know what they need to work on for future matches against teams that are as equally dominating.
This loss took the Huskies to 0-1 in Big East play and 4-2 overall in their spring season.
Connecticut looks to flip the script and get themselves in the winning column as they face the Stony Brook Seawolves at home on Friday, Feb. 16. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. If Husky fans wish to keep up with the match, they can follow it through iOnCourt Live Scoring.