It’s not often that a 6-1, 6-0 victory is a blemish on a team’s performance, but on Tuesday afternoon for the BU women, that was just the case.
Juliana Umeki’s thoroughly dominating performance at first singles paled in comparison to the show her teammates put on, as no other player on the women’s tennis team lost even a game, singles or doubles, against Fairleigh Dickinson (0-17) in BU’s final home match of the year.
“I’m very comfortable with the way she’s playing at No. 1,” head coach Mike Stevens said reassuringly. “She’ll definitely be ready for this weekend [against Albany and UNH].”
For the young squad, ‘Senior Day’ was not in the team’s vernacular; for the second year in a row, the team has no graduating seniors on the roster.
But with this year’s powerful, skilled lineup all set to return next year, Stevens didn’t seem too disappointed about not having to send off anyone just yet.
“I try not to look too far ahead, but next year having everyone back is a great feeling,” he said. “Knowing that we’ll have everyone back is exciting.”
Zeynep Altinay, Lya Kushnirovich, J.J. Koprivica, Jenn Naegeli and Nicole Scarangella picked up 6-0, 6-0 wins at the second through sixth spots, respectively.
At number six, Scarangella’s 6-0, 6-0 victory was an especially promising sign for the championship-hungry Bearcats. The freshman showed no signs of a nagging shoulder injury that has haunted her throughout the year, and a strong performance at No. 6 could be key in the Bearcats’ title run in two weeks.
“Having [Nicole] back in the lineup is a big boost for the team,” Stevens said. “Having her back in both the singles and the doubles certainly gives us a much-improved lineup.”
The Bearcats’ dominant doubles performance, winning by a combined score of 24-0, showed how well BU’s doubles teams have grown since the start of the year.
“Our doubles is much stronger compared to the fall,” Stevens said. “We’re really looking forward to our match with Albany to see what we have to work on.”
With their home schedule wrapped up, the Bearcats will head to Albany for a 2 p.m. match tomorrow and then to New Hampshire for their final dual match on Sunday.
Barring an unlikely collapse this weekend, the Bearcats will head to Yale the following weekend with the two-seed in the America East tournament. Boston, the 11-time defending champions, will pose the biggest threat in keeping the elusive title from Stevens’ squad.
Check out Pipe Dream next week for an in-depth look at the upcoming America East tennis championships.