SALEM, Mass.--UMass Boston women's tennis matched their program-record for conference wins (three) in a single-season Tuesday afternoon, with a 7-2 win over Salem State.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 7, Salem State 2
(UMass Boston 4-4, Little East 3-2)
(Salem State 1-7, Little East 1-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Logan Smith (Soutwick, Mass.), Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) and Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) all went 2-0 to help UMass Boston even their overall record at 4-4.
With their win, UMass Boston matched the 2001, 2011 and 2013 teams for the most conference wins in a single-season.
Senior Nurcin Celebi (Istanbul, Turkey) and Erickson opened the match with an 8-1 win at third doubles. The Beacons quickly added a second point at first doubles, as Garcia and Smith cruised to an 8-3 victory. Salem State salvaged a point out of doubles play with an 8-2 win at second doubles.
UMass Boston added three-straight singles points to easily earn the match victory.
Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.) defeated Jen Nassise 6-1, 6-1 at sixth singles and Garcia tacked on a 6-3, 6-1 victory at number one singles. Junior Vicky Woytowicz (Springfield, Mass.) added the match-clinching point at fourth-singles, as she earned a 6-4, 6-1 win.
Salem State earned their only win during singles at third singles, as Hillary Gustafson defeated Celebi 6-2, 6-4.
UMass Boston closed out the victory with wins at second and fifth singles. Smith outlasted Cassie Morrison 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in a third-set super tiebreaker at second-flight singles and Erickson earned a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory at fifth singles.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With their 3-2 conference record, UMass Boston currently sits in fourth-place in the Little East. The Beacons need to finish in the top six, to earn their first trip to the LEC Tournament since 2013.
- UMass Boston improved to 3-9 all-time against Salem State.
- The Beacons four wins in just eight matches are already more than their 2014 total (3-14).
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to UMass Dartmouth Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in a rescheduled match from this past Saturday. The Corsairs are 2-3 in Little East Conference play and sit in fifth-place in the conference standings.
