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University of Massachusets Athletics
Behind The Masses • UMass Tennis Blog • Entry #8
October 19, 2019 | Tennis
Jodie Annie Lawrence-Taylor recaps the first day of ITA Regionals
SAT., OCT. 19 • ENTRY NO. 8
Our first day at the ITA Northeast Regionals began at the crack of dawn. As we exited the hotel at 6:50 a.m., Anna Napadiy, Martina Bocchi and I looked around in horror as we noticed that the sun had not risen yet. Janja Kovacevic and Coach Juancarlos Nunez looked slightly less shocked, having already dealt with these conditions in Tulsa, but I'm not sure they were exactly happy about being up so early. Being 30 minutes from the venue and having been allocated a practice time of 7:50 a.m., we had little choice but to leave the comfort of our hotel rooms for the cool morning.
I wish I could give you a vivid description of the sunset illuminating the Autumn colours, but unfortunately I can't; I'm pretty sure I was asleep on Janja the entire time (she's a very good pillow in case anyone was wondering). Once we arrived at the Army West Point check points, I was forced to pay attention as we all handed over our IDs. It was an odd experience so early in the morning as paranoia overtook me that I would do something wrong and not be allowed in. Don't you love irrational fears? Thankfully, even without an entry pass and one ID (*cough* Martina *cough*), we were granted entry and made our way to the courts to get our campaign underway.
Janja and Martina opened up the competition for us, taking on an aggressive doubles pair from Buffalo. The match started competitively: each player held their first service game, piling the pressure on to find the first break of the match. Handling the pressure admirable, our girls were the first to break away and they never looked back, continuing to pummel their opposition with strong groundstrokes and ambitious netplay. It was a comfortable first round win in the end and the perfect start to an even more successful day. Their second match saw them maintain momentum, cruising past players from Niagara in an incredibly short space of time. Once again, they dominated from the beginning, allowing their opponents no room to breathe and taking complete control of the net. The smart doubles play on display certainly leaves them deserving of a place in the 3rd round; they're only the fourth doubles pairing from UMass to reach this round. This next round will prove more challenging but, with the tennis they have been displaying, no win is unattainable and I for one can't wait to see how much further they can progress.
Anna and I proved to have a more challenging day. Nerves consumed us in our first round as our breathing remained shallow and shots tight. It was a struggle to get our returns past our opposition at the net and we found ourselves completely dominated. Yet, we wouldn't simply give in, it's not in our nature, and we managed to pull ourselves together, finally breaking serve to inch ahead 7-4 and claim victory soon afterwards. It was a relief to have gotten through our first match and we knew we would have to step it up in the following one if we were to defeat the top-8 seeds from Harvard. Going on court five minutes after our first match ended, we got off to a flying start, breaking serve for a 3-1 lead. However, we were unable to keep this momentum up and soon began to struggle with the tricky lefty duo. A few tight games didn't go our way and choices of desperation were made when we simply needed to be patient and stick to what we know. The match did not go our way in the end, but we certainly challenged this pairing and proved to ourselves that they are no better than us.
In the afternoon, we moved on to the singles draw, with Anna competing outside and Martina inside. Janja and Coach JC headed out to support Anna against Boston College's Laura Lopez, an opponent she had lost to only three weeks ago. Knowing that she was going to have to step up in order to win this match, Anna came out firing, keeping her opponent at bay with a barrage of forehands. After winning the first set 6-2, it looked as if Lopez may force a more competitive set at the start, but Anna quickly quenched any hope and fight she may have had, powering through to claim another 6-2 set. For the confidence and tennis prowess she showed, Anna should be commended; beating someone you have previously lost to, especially so recently, is always such a mental battle, but Anna made it look easy.
On the indoor courts, Martina was honoured by my presence as her on court coach whilst she faced a fierce opponent who came out firing. We knew from the start that it was going to be a matter of weathering the storm and remaining persistent until the other girl's game started to break down. At 1-4 in the first set, it appeared that maybe the attacks would be too much to withstand. As our hope began to dwindle, the break we had been waiting for occurred and Martina didn't look back, claiming the set 7-5. At the beginning of the second, we knew that her opponent would once again come firing out of the starting blocks, but this time she didn't burn out so fast, claiming the set 6-2 and forcing a third. With both girls beginning to feel the fatigue, it was going to be a battle of wills to see who would prevail as the victor. It was almost too close to call throughout the set, but Martina managed to edge ahead 5-4. A tight game followed, but once again Martina's strength of mind was enough for her to win the game and the match, all thanks to my stellar coaching by the way.
We couldn't have asked for a much better start to ITA Regionals and I can't wait to see how the second round singles matches go today. Speaking of which, I should probably sign off seen as I'm warming up in 9 minutes. Apologies that this was a little rushed but I hope you got a little more insight into our first day here at Army West Point. Now off to claim more victories today!
- Jodie Annie Lawrence-Taylor, sophomore, UMass tennis
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