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University of Massachusets Athletics
Tennis Set To Open 2014-15 Season At Brown Invitational
September 16, 2014 | Tennis
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass tennis team anticipates the start of the 2014-15 season with the Brown Invitational in Providence, Rhode Island, over the weekend of Sept. 19-21. Brown, Stony Brook, Rutgers, Boston University, Boston College and Providence are among the teams competing against UMass in the event. The tournament will be organized as a compass draw where each team will compete against all six others in singles and doubles matches.
The Minutewomen enter the season with a restructured roster after graduating four seniors last spring and introducing five new players to the 2014 lineup. The squad welcomes two transfers, Carol Benito, a junior lefthander out of New Delhi, India, as well as Brittany Collens, a sophomore hailing from Manchester, Massachusetts, who previously played for New Mexico State. Rookie freshmen, Isabel Balsavage, Michelle Katzelnik and Ana Yrazusta Acosta round out the roster for this season's newcomers.
Head coach Judy Dixon, in her 23rd year with UMass, will rely heavily on the leadership of returning seniors Chanel Glasper and Gianna Francis to guide the five novices. Junior Arielle Griffin and sophomores Julia Larson, Aarzoo Malik and Anna Woosley make up the remaining returners for this season.
The squad is on the heels of a successful season in 2013-14. UMass finished 13-9 overall, 3-1 in-conference games and 6-1 at home. The Minutewomen also qualified for the Atlantic 10 Championship where they defeated Dayton, 4-0, and Richmond, 4-1, before falling to VCU in the semifinal match-up.
Last season, Chanel Glasper led the charge for the Minutewomen. The senior finished 11-8 in singles play, improving her career singles record to 58-23 over three years. In the 2013 Brown Invitational, Glasper reached the consolation championship match of the Blue Singles Flight. The Plano, Texas, native also picked up three wins in doubles play, but fell to host-Brown in the championship match.
This weekend will forecast multiple upcoming matches for the squad later in the year. The Minutewomen are set to face Brown, Boston College and Providence again in dual matches during the 2015 spring season. This is the team's second appearance at the Brown Invitational, and following this weekend, the Minutewomen will compete in their second of four fall tournaments, at the Army Invitational at West Point, New York, Sept. 26-28.
