BOSTON, Mass.—Trailing 3-2 in the second set, junior Kathleen Conroy (Quincy, Mass.) rallied to win four-straight games to earn the Beacons' first Little East Conference win of the 2016 season.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 5, Salem State 4
(UMass Boston 2-3, Little East 1-1)
(Salem State 0-4, Little East 0-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After taking two of the three doubles point, UMass Boston needed Conroy to win her match at number two singles to earn the Beacons their first-ever home win over Salem State University.
Senior Kelsey Shea (West Bridgewater, Mass.) finished a perfect 2-0 for the Beacons with wins at second doubles and sixth singles. Junior Meghan Erickson (Hubbardston, Mass.) also had a perfect day, as she contributed to win in an exhibition match at fourth doubles and cruised to a win in fifth singles.
UMass Boston opened the match with back-to-back wins in doubles. Shea and fellow senior Vicky Woytowicz (Springfield, Mass.) took the first point of the day with an 8-3 win at second doubles.
Kristy Garcia (Miami, Fla.) and Katie Gauthier (West Boylston, Mass.) made it 2-0 moments later, when they grabbed an 8-4 win at number one doubles.
The Beacons held a 7-6 lead at number three doubles, but couldn't hold on. Salem State's Cassie Morrison and Kristin Klimowicz held off Conroy and Valeria Tueme (Easton, Mass.) 9-7.
Seeking their first win under first-year head coach Dan McCormick, the Vikings came back and won the next point to tie the match.
Meredith MacDondald picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win over Woytowicz in fourth singles to even the match at 2-2.
UMass Boston answered back with back-to-back wins at fifth and sixth singles to push the lead to 4-2.
Erickson and Shea grabbed identical 6-0, 6-2 wins at fifth and sixth singles.
Salem State countered with two wins of their own, as Ann Spence rallied from a first-set deficit to win 6-4, 6-1 at third singles. On court one, Madeline Allaire earned a three-set victory, as she fell 6-4 in the opening set to Garcia, before notching set wins of 6-2 and 6-0.
With the match even at 4-4, the outcome fell to the final match of the day to begin. Conroy jumped out to early leads in both sets, but found herself trailing 3-2 in the second with the sun quickly setting. The junior picked up four-straight games to earn a 6-3, 6-3 win at second singles.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Tueme made her collegiate debut in the loss.
- UMass Boston improved to 4-9 all-time against the Vikings. The Beacons had lost the first five meetings with Salem State in Boston.
- Salem State earned their first three singles wins of the season in the loss. The Vikings had previously won just one doubles point in their first three matches.
- She and Erickson have combined to win seven of the Beacons' 12 overall singles victories. The two finished with 11 overall singles wins a year ago.
- Erickson and Maria Benatuil (Caracas, Venezuela) earned an 8-3 win in an exhibition fourth doubles match over Conor Deedy and Ashley Lon.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston women's tennis will compete in the ITA/New England Regional Tournament on Friday at MIT.
