Over the weekend, the Huskies were on the road, taking on Georgetown in College Park, MD, and Villanova in Pennsylvania for the last two matches before their regular season finale. The program started out cold in this doubleheader, falling to the Hoyas in heartbreaking fashion 4-3, but bounced back to beat the Wildcats by that same score in another close match.
Vs. Georgetown
This matchup started in UConn’s favor, securing the doubles point thanks to strong play from the top of the lineup. Juniors Olivia Wright and Maria Constantinou won the first game of the day in dominating fashion, defeating graduate student Chloe Bendetti and freshman Katie Garofolo-Ro by a score of 6-1. The Connecticut lead was built upon by junior Isabel Petri Bere and freshman Caroline Hinshaw, who got the better of seniors Olivia Ashton and Morgan Coburn in an amazing comeback. The Georgetown duo jumped out to a 4-0 lead, finding themselves at match point, but Petri Bere and Hinshaw fought all the way back. From there, the pair didn’t drop another game and won the match 6-4, securing the doubles point for the Huskies.
Singles play is where the Hoyas started to come into their own and make it a close match. In the opening singles match, Bendetti defeated Wright in an exhilarating three set affair that finished 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. Constantinou pulled some momentum back UConn’s way in the second match, defeating senior Avantika Willy in straight sets while only dropping one game (6-1, 6-0). With UConn leading 2-1, Georgetown kicked it into high gear, winning the next two singles matches to take the lead. Freshman Emily Novikov made light work of Petri Bere, winning 6-3, 6-1 while Garofolo-Ro made up for her doubles loss with a 6-4, 3–6, 6-2 victory over Hinshaw.
Now sitting at 3-2 in Georgetown’s favor, Cameron Didion stepped up big in a sophomore showdown against Paige Gilbert, securing the 6-4, 6-3 straight set win. After all the games, sets and matches, everything came down to one final match between UConn freshman Isabella Asenov and Georgetown sophomore Ashley Kennedy. Knotted at three, Kennedy left no doubts, coming out with a commanding straight set victory (6-3, 6-2) and securing the 4-3 dub for the Hoyas.
Vs. Villanova
UConn was having some deja vu at the start of this matchup as they stormed out to a commanding lead in doubles play. Wright and Constantinou kept cooking, breezing past graduate student Ami Grace Dougah and freshman Miriam Gondorova in a match that finished 6-2. To secure the doubles point and an early lead for Connecticut, Petri Bere and Hinshaw secured a resounding 6-1 victory against sophomores Maggie Gehrig and Emi Callahan.
To start singles play, Dougah got her revenge against Wright in a very closely contested three set match. After winning the first set 6-4, the junior fought back to tie it up with her own 6-4 victory, but Dougah was able to outlast Wright’s efforts to win the last set once again with a 6-4 score. Constantinou brought things back for the Huskies, though, keeping her red-hot form going with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win versus Gehrig.
In a similar fashion to the Georgetown match, Villanova would win the next two matches to snatch the lead from UConn. Gondorova and fellow freshman Jenna Stevens came out with some huge results, defeating Petri Bere (3-6, 6-2, 7-6) and Hinshaw (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) respectively. Up against the ropes, Didion once again stepped up big to tie things up, securing a straight set victory over freshman Lauren Monti. Once again, it all came down to the last match featuring Asenov and junior Valieriia Kornieva. Asenov made light work of the first set, winning 6-2, but the second set was much closer. At first, Kornieva jumped out to a 2-0 set lead, but Asenov battled back to make things 4-2. Eventually, Asenov found herself with a 5-4 lead and was able to redeem herself from the Georgetown loss. She didn’t let the lead go to waste and the 6-4 set victory locked up the 4-3 win for Connecticut.
What’s next
In the final match of the season before the Big East tournament, the Huskies will host Seton Hall in Storrs, CT at tennis courts on Discovery Drive later this week. The match will be held on Friday, April 12 at 3 p.m.