A new dynasty has been formed by way of force when UMass Boston beat Rhode Island College for the third consecutive time to capture the 2024 Little East Conference Championship on Saturday, Oct. 19. The Anchormen, dethroned by the Beacons in 2022 after five straight titles, have fallen victim in all three of UMass Boston’s victories.
RIC claimed their lone win in singles — credit to freshman Haylie Peacock who bested Elena Albano, the 2022 LEC Women’s Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — for a final score of 5-1. Peacock went 17-0 in singles in her first year, and 14-2 in doubles play.
UMass Boston ran the table in doubles, taking all three matches with tight margins: 8-6, 8-5, and 8-5. The Beacons’ dominant doubles teams made the difference — duos Elena Albano and Ayonna Stuppard alongside Sandra Watson and Tatiana Malone finished the year undefeated, including wins in the championship. The pair of graduate student Lydia Chan and Zainab Patel won their match as well, and finished 11-1 in the season.
Chan gave one final stamp to her collegiate career, ousting Erica Botelho decisively 6-1, 6-0 — along with her win in doubles play. Chan is part of a group of seven return players from last year’s title winning team, and one of four holdovers from the start of their run in 2022. She served as the team’s ace, and their leader, this year, going 12-2 in singles, and 13-1 in doubles.
“I had the choice to either return and compete or focus on work and school, but my hunger for one more win drove me to come back. This year is my last chance, and I wanted to instill in my teammates the feeling of victory,” said Chan.
The Beacons’ returning top-gun this year didn’t just help secure the goal of 2024, but set a strong culture and winning attitude for the future. Chan is “hoping they can carry that experience forward in the years to come.” UMass Boston is going to have to fill a big hole now that Chan’s time is up, but she hopes she left a mark that will pay the team dividends following her departure.
It’ll be a big loss, but it highlights the Beacons’ biggest strength: their depth. Tentatively, three of their six athletes who competed in the championship match will return next year. No word yet on seniors Stuppard and Elbano, but the rest of the roster is filled with young, and experienced — talent like Patel, Watson, Malone, and Kaya-Lilliana Rutkowski.
The UMass Boston women’s tennis team is the third program in university history to three-peat conference championships. They joined men’s baseball, who did it in years ‘17, ‘18, and ‘19, men’s soccer through the ‘14, ‘15, and ‘16 seasons, and women’s volleyball, two-time three-peat champions.
The familiar foe of Rhode Island College won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. They carry a good amount of youth themselves, with two emerging freshmen, Peacock and Arianna De Thomas, already nearing the top of their line-up. The Anchormen have made nine LEC title games in a row, and 11 of the last 12. These two dynastic-like programs have the pleasure of meeting each other many times.
But this time, and last time, and the time before that, the Beacons have come out on top. Three straight championships for UMass Boston, and what looks to be an ability to threaten the conference for years to come.
This article appeared in print on Page 1 of Vol. LVIII Issue V, published Oct. 21, 2024.
