UMass Boston women’s tennis warms up for their game against Casleton on Oct. 4, 2022.
The UMass Boston women’s tennis program is one of the top performing programs here at UMass Boston, and what these players bring to the table during every match proves just that. The tennis program’s recent win over Castleton University is a historic one that will go into the UMass Boston record books. Their 9–0 victory against the Spartans counts as their fifth sweep of the season, tying a program record.
Along with their record tying sweep, another feat that came from the Beacons’ victory was winning their 20th consecutive home game, a streak that has not been snapped in years, dating back to the 2018 season (1). To put that into perspective, the east and west residence halls had just opened, the Boston Red Sox were world champions, and the New England Patriots had yet to have won their sixth Super Bowl.
What’s especially amazing about their home winning streak, as it extends into this season, is that four of their five victories at home have been 9–0 sweeps, with the other victory being an 8–1 win over Bridgewater State (2). Their other 9–0 victory, which came on the road, was against Western Connecticut; the long ride home for the Beacons must have been a fun one to say the least.
With their dominant performances this year, the Beacons have solidified themselves as contenders in the Little East Conference, with a 5–0 record in conference play this season, and a 6–1 record overall.
Their only loss of the season came in a non-conference match against an undefeated Roger Williams team that entered the match with a 9–0 record. Even then, the game was still very close, and a hard fought battle for the Beacons resulted in a 5–4 defeat (3).
Nonetheless, the outstanding play the Beacons have put on display can be thanks to dynamic duos in doubles matches—and terrific players all around—that have translated into wins in both singles and doubles. In their match against Castleton that tied the program record for most sweeps, the Beacons had players that improved on their undefeated records for the season in both singles and doubles matches.
For some background, the game of tennis is played in sets, not matches. This means that four points in a single game gives a player a win within a single set, and the first player to win six games wins a set of the match. A player must win two sets in a best of three series to score a point for the entire team. For doubles, it is the first team to eight who wins in a single set. A single set is added to the entire score of the match itself, with the sets being a best of nine series.
With that being said, the Beacons’ fifth sweep saw them win 96 games of tennis, with 24 wins coming from three doubles matches, and 72 wins from six different series of singles. For the Beacons, the team consisting of sophomores Elena Albano and Ayonna Stuppard, who is a transfer student, have been undefeated since they teamed up as the number two doubles team.
Stuppard has had a tremendous amount of success in both singles and doubles matches, as she improved her undefeated record to 13–0 altogether, holding a 7–0 record in singles and 6–0 record in doubles. Junior Yana Sumerly has had similar success, as she holds a remarkable 10–0 record, with five wins in both singles and doubles. Sumerly teams up with fellow junior Lydia Chan in doubles matches as the number one doubles team, both of whom have seen much success as a duo (4).
The Beacons have a long road ahead of them in the Little East Conference. Their next game, which is against a UMass Dartmouth team that is also undefeated in LEC play, is a pure example of that.
Nevertheless, with superb team play that builds off of strong individual performances and the team pulling off statement wins as if it’s normal—well, at this point it is normal for them—it looks like the Beacons are going to be one of the toughest teams to beat this season.
The women’s tennis team has had quite a historical run, and with their continued success at home, on top of the mastery they have displayed by tying a record in sweeps this season, it looks like this season may be one for both the record and the history books.