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University of Massachusets Athletics
Making a Quick Adjustment
June 01, 2001 | Tennis
by SETH GERARD
The Maroon & White
At a time when most incoming freshmen are getting adjusted to college life, Francesca Mancini was already making her mark on the UMass tennis program. Before she had a chance to get used to her class schedule, Mancini had already won her first collegiate tournament and was named WHMP/UMass Athlete of the Week in the process.
The freshman phenom from Milan, Italy, is no stranger to success. She left Italy as the No. 49 ranked player and won numerous tournaments both there and in Toronto, Canada, where she lived for a year. Mancini said she always wanted to go to school in America and found UMass on the Internet. She sent head coach Judy Dixon a letter and before long, she was in Amherst for a tour.
Playing for Dixon at UMass marks her first experience playing on a team, as Italian high schools do not have sports teams. When Mancini came to UMass she did not know what to expect from her competition so Dixon started her off at the No. 2 singles position in the Eastern Tennis Championships last September. All she did was go out and win. Ever since then, Mancini has played at the No. 1 spot for the Minutewomen.
"I was very nervous at that tournament," she remembered. "Judy did not know what to expect from me, so I wanted to make a good impression on her."
Mancini, who racked up a team-high 23 singles wins as well as 21 doubles wins in her first year, is on pace to shatter just about every UMass women's tennis record if she continues her torrid pace. She was one of four freshmen that led the Minutewomen to their best season in school history (20-8), which included their first-ever Atlantic 10 title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"When we had our first team meeting in September, our goal was to advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final match," Mancini remembers. "Making the NCAA Tournament was an added bonus, but now we will expect to make it every year so there will be added pressure on us in the future. Next year, we will not be satisfied with just making the final. As soon as we saw that Temple lost in the A-10 semifinal to George Washington, we knew that we had a good chance of going beyond our goal."
When the brackets came out for the NCAA Tournament and the Minute-women saw that they had to travel to Tempe, Ariz., and take on the 10th-ranked Sun Devils of Arizona State, they knew that it would be tough. Mancini's opponent, Adria Engel, was the nation's sixth-ranked singles player. Although Mancini lost in straight sets, she said it would be valuable experience for the future. To make matters worse for Mancini and the rest of the UMass squad, they had to play their match in the middle of the day in the hot Arizona sun where temperatures hovered around 107 degrees.
Mancini was part of a Minutewoman freshmen class that accounted for exactly half of UMass' singles wins this season.
"Having a young team is good because when I came here I was scared, but knowing that there were three others in my shoes made me feel more comfortable," says Mancini. "It will be good for us in the future because we will be able to gel as a team knowing we have three more years together at UMass."
Last month, Mancini became only the second player in Atlantic 10 history to be named Performer of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She was also one of two Minutewomen to be named to the All-Conference Team. At the ITA East Regional in November, Mancini and teammate Jafra Depontes advanced to the semifinals of the Flight A Doubles bracket. On the way there, they defeated the No. 1 seeded tandem from William and Mary. Mancini's loss in the third round of singles action was her first at UMass, nearly three months into the season.
Mancini describes her style of play as a baseliner. She hits the ball hard, but occasionally flat. She is a good defender and likes to go to the net. This is one of the contributing factors to why she is such a good doubles player. Her strengths actually went against her during the match with Arizona State. The hot, dry air and gusty desert winds helped carry her ball out-of-bounds. She had a lot of unforced errors that may have been winning shots elsewhere.
"When I came to this country, I thought the competition level was not as good as in Italy," says Mancini. "In Italian tournaments, I would always be up against good players, even in the first couple rounds. Here, it seems like I have to get a round or two deep in a tournament before the competition level increases." Mancini did show a lot of respect for Engel and the entire Arizona State squad. "They were one of the best teams I have ever seen," she said. "They changed speeds and spins very effectively and knew we would be vulnerable to the conditions."
Mancini also had a lot of respect for other teams the Minutewomen faced during the season like Harvard, Yale, Boston University, Dartmouth and Lynn.
"Just from what I have seen, I believe the West Coast teams are much better than those on the East Coast for the most part, but the weather has a lot to do with it. While we are indoors in the winter because of the cold and snow, they can still be outdoors most of the time. There are still good teams in the south as well as a lot of the Ivy League schools."
Mancini has set a goal for herself for next year to get a regional ranking. She knows she can play with that type of competition because she defeated regionally-ranked players from Boston University and Dartmouth, as well as facing the region's best in the ITA Tournament last fall. She would also like to get a United States national ranking to go along with her Italian national ranking. She has set a goal for herself to remain the No. 1 player at UMass.
UMass will have everyone coming back next year in addition to a couple of recruits so the competition will be tough. Mancini realizes that she will have to work hard this summer at home in Italy in order to have a successful sophomore season.
The Maroon & White
At a time when most incoming freshmen are getting adjusted to college life, Francesca Mancini was already making her mark on the UMass tennis program. Before she had a chance to get used to her class schedule, Mancini had already won her first collegiate tournament and was named WHMP/UMass Athlete of the Week in the process.
The freshman phenom from Milan, Italy, is no stranger to success. She left Italy as the No. 49 ranked player and won numerous tournaments both there and in Toronto, Canada, where she lived for a year. Mancini said she always wanted to go to school in America and found UMass on the Internet. She sent head coach Judy Dixon a letter and before long, she was in Amherst for a tour.
Playing for Dixon at UMass marks her first experience playing on a team, as Italian high schools do not have sports teams. When Mancini came to UMass she did not know what to expect from her competition so Dixon started her off at the No. 2 singles position in the Eastern Tennis Championships last September. All she did was go out and win. Ever since then, Mancini has played at the No. 1 spot for the Minutewomen.
"I was very nervous at that tournament," she remembered. "Judy did not know what to expect from me, so I wanted to make a good impression on her."
Mancini, who racked up a team-high 23 singles wins as well as 21 doubles wins in her first year, is on pace to shatter just about every UMass women's tennis record if she continues her torrid pace. She was one of four freshmen that led the Minutewomen to their best season in school history (20-8), which included their first-ever Atlantic 10 title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"When we had our first team meeting in September, our goal was to advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament final match," Mancini remembers. "Making the NCAA Tournament was an added bonus, but now we will expect to make it every year so there will be added pressure on us in the future. Next year, we will not be satisfied with just making the final. As soon as we saw that Temple lost in the A-10 semifinal to George Washington, we knew that we had a good chance of going beyond our goal."
When the brackets came out for the NCAA Tournament and the Minute-women saw that they had to travel to Tempe, Ariz., and take on the 10th-ranked Sun Devils of Arizona State, they knew that it would be tough. Mancini's opponent, Adria Engel, was the nation's sixth-ranked singles player. Although Mancini lost in straight sets, she said it would be valuable experience for the future. To make matters worse for Mancini and the rest of the UMass squad, they had to play their match in the middle of the day in the hot Arizona sun where temperatures hovered around 107 degrees.
Mancini was part of a Minutewoman freshmen class that accounted for exactly half of UMass' singles wins this season.
"Having a young team is good because when I came here I was scared, but knowing that there were three others in my shoes made me feel more comfortable," says Mancini. "It will be good for us in the future because we will be able to gel as a team knowing we have three more years together at UMass."
Last month, Mancini became only the second player in Atlantic 10 history to be named Performer of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She was also one of two Minutewomen to be named to the All-Conference Team. At the ITA East Regional in November, Mancini and teammate Jafra Depontes advanced to the semifinals of the Flight A Doubles bracket. On the way there, they defeated the No. 1 seeded tandem from William and Mary. Mancini's loss in the third round of singles action was her first at UMass, nearly three months into the season.
Mancini describes her style of play as a baseliner. She hits the ball hard, but occasionally flat. She is a good defender and likes to go to the net. This is one of the contributing factors to why she is such a good doubles player. Her strengths actually went against her during the match with Arizona State. The hot, dry air and gusty desert winds helped carry her ball out-of-bounds. She had a lot of unforced errors that may have been winning shots elsewhere.
"When I came to this country, I thought the competition level was not as good as in Italy," says Mancini. "In Italian tournaments, I would always be up against good players, even in the first couple rounds. Here, it seems like I have to get a round or two deep in a tournament before the competition level increases." Mancini did show a lot of respect for Engel and the entire Arizona State squad. "They were one of the best teams I have ever seen," she said. "They changed speeds and spins very effectively and knew we would be vulnerable to the conditions."
Mancini also had a lot of respect for other teams the Minutewomen faced during the season like Harvard, Yale, Boston University, Dartmouth and Lynn.
"Just from what I have seen, I believe the West Coast teams are much better than those on the East Coast for the most part, but the weather has a lot to do with it. While we are indoors in the winter because of the cold and snow, they can still be outdoors most of the time. There are still good teams in the south as well as a lot of the Ivy League schools."
Mancini has set a goal for herself for next year to get a regional ranking. She knows she can play with that type of competition because she defeated regionally-ranked players from Boston University and Dartmouth, as well as facing the region's best in the ITA Tournament last fall. She would also like to get a United States national ranking to go along with her Italian national ranking. She has set a goal for herself to remain the No. 1 player at UMass.
UMass will have everyone coming back next year in addition to a couple of recruits so the competition will be tough. Mancini realizes that she will have to work hard this summer at home in Italy in order to have a successful sophomore season.
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