The UConn Tennis team is coming off a split weekend from their trip to West Point, N.Y. Connecticut suffered a close 3-4 loss on Saturday to Army; however, they quickly redeemed themselves on Sunday with a 4-0 win against St. Bonaventure.
The Huskies are now set to face Seton Hall on Friday in their first Big East match of the season. The Huskies will travel down to South Orange, N.J. to take on the Pirates for the twelfth time in program history. When looking back at the history between both of these programs, UConn has never lost a match to the Pirates. Their largest winning margin was in April of last year when the Huskies took the victory 7-0.
The Seton Hall Pirates come into this matchup fresh off a 0-4 loss to Princeton last Saturday. Much like the Huskies they currently stand with a 2-1 record. This will be the Pirates’ first home game of their regular season as well as their first conference game.
This season mirrors the start of Seton Hall’s last season when the Pirates began 2-1 in their regular season. However, they will hope to end the season on a higher note than last year, where they ended the season with an 8-12 overall record and a 1-6 Big East record, their only conference win coming against Providence.
Despite their latest loss, the Pirates still have several strong players on their roster. This includes sophomore Anastasia Sereda, who currently stands with a 4-3 record in her singles play. Sereda has had difficulty in her doubles play, winning her first match 6-1 when partnered with graduate student Tamsin Hart, but lost her second match 7-5 when paired with senior Paige Wise. Despite the ups and downs, Sereda has still been instrumental in the Pirates success this season.
Another important player for Seton Hall is sophomore Imogen Brooker who beat Siena College’s Zaara Omar 6-4 in their first match and 6-1 in the second. Brooker has also been instrumental in their doubles play along with sophomore Niamh Campbell winning their last two matches 6-2 and 7-5. Despite losing her last two singles matches, Brooker still brings much needed support to the program.
The Huskies hope to kick off their Big East play with a win and maintain their undefeated status against the Pirates. On the other hand, Seton Hall hopes to redeem themselves from their last match and beat the Huskies for the first time in program history. The match will take place in South Orange, N.J. on Friday Feb. 7, with the first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.