BOSTON, Mass.—Johnson & Wales University proved too much for UMass Boston women's tennis in their home opener Saturday morning at the B.C. High Tennis Courts.
THE BASICS
Johnson & Wales 9, UMass Boston 0
(UMass Boston 1-2)
(Johnson & Wales 3-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The visitors held off a late doubles charge from the Beacons to grab a 3-0 lead and never looked back to improve to 3-0 for the fifth-consecutive season. UMass Boston was playing in front of one of their largest crowds in recent memory, as the Beacons hosted an alumni match after the conclusion of Saturday's contest.
Freshman Katie Gauthier (West Boylston, Mass.) and Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) put a scare in the Wildcats' number one singles pairing. After falling behind 6-4, the Beacons earned a break and held serve to tie the match at 6-6. The Wildcats fought back for a break of their own though and held on for an 8-6 victory to earn the 3-0 doubles sweep.
Johnson & Wales had easily won second and third doubles by scores of 8-4 and 8-2.
Gauthier and Garcia also proved to be the most difficult Beacons singles players to put away.
Gauthier took Luiza Silva Simoes the distance in the second set before ultimately falling 6-4, 7-5 at third singles.
On court one, Garcia squared off with Morgan Thompson and played an extended match that ended with Thompson winning 6-3, 6-2.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Johnson & Wales improved to 7-0 all-time against the Beacons.
- Senior Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.) has now played in 98 matches for her career. With two more matches, she will join former teammates Anitra Kloczeiwak ('13) and Samantha Counts ('13) as the only players in program history to reach the 100-match mark.
- UMass Boston hosted over a dozen alumni and a handful of current men's tennis players as part of an Alumni Doubles Tournament after the match.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will open Little East Conference play next Saturday against Worcester State University. The match will be played at Clark University, with the start time set for 5 p.m.
