.png&type=webp)
University of Massachusets Athletics
Tennis Heads To Harvard For 2011-12 Season Opener
September 14, 2011 | Tennis
Sept. 14, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass women's tennis team is set to open the 2011-12 season at the Harvard Fall Classic this weekend. The three-day event will begin on Friday, September 16 in Cambridge, Mass. with competition wrapping up on Sunday, September 18. Harvard, Boston University, Long Island, Temple and Middlebury will be competing against UMass at the classic.
Last season saw the Minutewomen post a fifth place conference finish with an overall record of 15-9 and an Atlantic 10 record of 6-1. Although this weekend's meet will not be scored, UMass will surely be looking to start the season headed in the right direction.
Top Two Singles Return
Six players will be returning for the Minutewomen this season, including first and second singles players Yuliana Motyl and Julia Comas.
After winning eight of her final 12 singles matches and tallying 13 total wins in first doubles, Yuliana Motylwas named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference 1st Team as a freshman in 2011. Motyl was voted the Most Improved Player of the season by her teammates and was a steadying force at both the number one singles and doubles spots throughout last season's stretch run.
Junior Julia Comasis coming off of a season in which she notched 17 singles wins, nine of which came at the second singles slot. Comas also added five doubles wins, building a resume that delivered Atlantic 10 All-Conference 2nd Team honors. This season, she will be holding a defined leadership role as one of the team's three captains.
Captains Named
Joining Comas as captains will be senior Gabriella Jannotta and sophomore Jessica Podlofsky. Jannotta had an overall singles record of 1-1 last season and will serve as a non-travelling captain.
Podlofsky posted a 19-9 overall record in singles and amassed a 15-6 record in various doubles pairings last year. Her performance as a freshman resulted in a unanimous vote by her teammates for the team's Most Valuable Player honors.
Junior Tandem
Two juniors who played a significant role in the team's success last season will be returning to give the Minutewomen some stability on this year's squad.
Chantal Swiszcz compiled a 15-5 overall record between #5 and #6 singles and along with Yuliana Motyladded 13 wins on the team's top doubles pairing.
Jocelyn Providenceposted a combined 11-5 doubles record and a 6-2 overall singles record.
Freshmen Five
Emilie Burgess (Mystic, Conn.), Bianca Drabek (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), Gianna Francis (Miami, Fl.), Chanel Glasper (Sarasota, Fl.) and Hazuki Onaga (El Segundo, Calif.) make up this year's freshmen recruiting class. The versatile group spans from across the country and around the world, adding depth to replace the losses of Candynce Boney, Kaitlyn Carpenter and Tanisha Hodgson.
Louisville Transfer
The final new addition to this year's team is Louisville transfer Sonia Bokhari. Coming out of high school, Bokhari was a four-star recruit out of Lake Hiawatha, N.J.
