DARTMOUTH, Mass.—UMass Boston's top doubles pair Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) and Katie Gauthier (West Boylston, Mass.) earned the Beacons' lone victory Tuesday afternoon, in a Little East Conference Quarterfinal match against UMass Dartmouth.
THE BASICS
#3 UMass Dartmouth 5, #6 UMass Boston 1
(UMass Boston 6-7)
(UMass Dartmouth 10-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Garcia and Gauthier earned an 8-3 victory at number one doubles to keep the match close at 2-1, but UMass Dartmouth would dominate in singles, to easily take the match 5-1.
The defending LEC Champion Corsairs earn a date with #2 Rhode Island College for a second-straight season, with that match taking place on Thursday at 3 p.m. in Providence.
After UMass Boston fell 8-4 at number two singles, the Corsairs pushed their advantage to 2-0 with a win at third doubles. Samantha Rollings and Natasha Shiku narrowly defeated Kathleen Conroy (Quincy, Mass.) and Valeria Tueme (Easton, Mass.) 8-6.
Garcia and Gauthier kept the Beacons in the match with a dominant 8-3 victory at number one doubles.
UMass Dartmouth freshman Jaime Fastino pushed the hosts advantage back to two in singles play, when she defeated Gauthier 6-2, 6-0 in number three singles.
The Corsairs tacked on a fourth point at second singles, when Mollie McCaffrey handed Conroy a 6-2, 6-2 defeat.
Rollings clinched the victory for UMass Dartmouth at number four singles, when she defeated Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) 6-4, 6-2.
In the other three matches that weren't completed, UMass Dartmouth led by a set at first and fifth singles and led early in set three on court six.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Dartmouth improved to 16-1 all-time against the Beacons and earned their third playoff win against UMass Boston in four years.
- UMass Boston falls to 0-5 all-time in the Little East Conference Tournament.
- Garcia improved to a perfect 3-0 in postseason play, after finishing 2-0 in last year's 5-2 loss against the Corsairs.
- Senior Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.) tied Anitra Kloczewiak ('13) for the program-record for career doubles matched played in Tuesday's contest. Shea and Kloczewiak both have played in 64 doubles matches.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will be off for the rest of the fall, before resuming play during their annual Spring Break trip.
