Lose and go home, survive and advance. The University of Massachusetts Boston’s Tennis program is back in the Little East Conference tournament.
After missing the cut for last year’s postseason, the Beacons responded with their best conference record in the history of the program. Last season, the Women’s Tennis team suffered a loss in the last game of the season, coming short of the playoffs by just one match point. This year, the Beacons have turned things around. The team looks reinvigorated and motivated as they continue their journey into the Little East Conference tournament.
Head Coach Eric Berg is proud to be a part of a special group of players. “We have some talented players on our roster, but more importantly, they are a great group of people,” said Berg. “Their efforts have earned them a spot in the playoffs again. It’s exciting to see them rewarded for their hard work.”
The Beacons went 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference games this season, earning themselves the fifth seed in the Little East Conference postseason. Tuesday, October 20, marks the opening games for the LEC playoffs. UMass Boston is set to face the fourth seed, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, in the first match of the tournament. The game will be hosted by UMass Dartmouth. The rivalry between schools should make for fierce competition on the courts. Both teams have talented rosters and the game is up for anyone’s taking.
Coach Berg is preparing his team for the postseason. The Beacons have five days of preparation before the start of the LEC playoffs. “We have a difficult road ahead of us this postseason. Dartmouth is a great team and we need to be at our best to beat them… The next couple of practices we will fine-tune some things before our first game,” said the coach. “We had a couple of good wins in our last two games of the season. Hopefully this can give us some momentum going into the playoffs.”
If the Beacons prevail on Tuesday, they will face the winner of the third and sixth seeds match, Plymouth State and Worcester State, respectively. The front-runners this year in the LEC are Rhode Island College and Bridgewater State University. Bridgewater has been one of the top teams in the conference for the last decade. If the Beacons want to bring home some silverware, they will likely have to go through Bridgewater’s Bears.
For the Beacons to succeed they just need to take things a game at a time: that’s how championships are won. UMass Boston has some top teams in their path to a title, but fortunately, an upset takes a single win. All the Beacons need to do is survive and advance.