BOSTON, Mass.—UMass Boston used a sweep of doubles and 2-0 days from senior Nurcin Celebi (Istanbul, Turkey) and junior Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.), to set a new program-record with their fourth Little East Conference win of the year.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 5, Western Connecticut State 1
(UMass Boston 5-6, 4-4 Little East)
(Western Connecticut State 6-6, 1-6 Little East)
HOW IT HAPPENED
UMass Boston jumped out to a 3-0 lead and just barely reached a decision before darkness hit, as the Beacons clinched a spot in next week's Little East Conference Tournament.
With the victory, UMass Boston will be the fifth-seed in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth next Tuesday. The win also helped the Beacons set a new program-mark with their four LEC wins, one more than the 2001, 2011 and 2013 teams.
Celebi and her doubles partner
Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) opened the match with an 8-3 win over Clare Callahan and Alisa Akam.
Senior Logan Smith and Kristy Garcia quickly followed with a win of their own, as the Beacons' top doubles pair earned a come-from-behind 8-5 win.
The Beacons' second doubles pair of Shea and Vicky Woytowicz (Springfield, Mass.) finished off the sweep with an 8-2 victory over Olivia Mauro and Alexandra Moravsky.
UMass Boston immediately added a fourth point at the beginning of singles play, as Celebi cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win at third singles.
Lianna Maynard grabbed the lone point of the day for the Colonials at first singles, as she earned a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) win over Garcia.
With second and fourth singles heading into a third set and the fifth singles match going back and forth, Shea secured the fifth and final point with an easy 6-1, 6-0 victory over Callahan at sixth singles.
Shea's win proved critical for the Beacons, as Western Connecticut State held leads in all three of the unfinished matches. Angelica Jara (second singles) and Akam held leads in the third set of their matches, while Moravsky was up a set and led 6-5 in the second set at fifth singles.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston's win secured their first playoff appearance since 2013 and just their fourth appearance since the LEC went to the new format in 2008.
- With the loss, Western Connecticut State was eliminated from postseason contention.
- Just like in 2013, Shea was the Beacon to win the point that secured the Beacons' playoff spot.
- With a win Friday, UMass Boston can close out their fall regular season tied for the second-most wins (six) under head coach Eric Berg.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will host Curry College (4-10) Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in their final match of the regular season. Before the match, UMass Boston will honor their two seniors.
