Feb. 21, 2007

This weekend, the UMass tennis team will participate in one of their most important stretches of the season. The Minutewomen travel to Hanover, N.H. to face Dartmouth on Friday at 5:00 before heading home to host A-10 rival Fordham on Sunday at noon. Sunday's match will be held at the Bay Road Tennis Club on the campus of Hampshire College. It is the last home match until April 6th when they host Boston University at the new Mullins Courts on campus.

Series History with Dartmouth
•Dartmouth and UMass have met ten times in the past with Dartmouth holding a 7-3 series advantage.
•UMass won the last match, on February 22, 2006, 4-3
•UMass traveled to Dartmouth twice during the fall season to participate in the ITA Regionals and the Big Green Invitational
•Members from UMass clashed with Darmouth on three occasions over the fall. Masha Pozar defeated Carley Markovitz of Dartmouth, 6-4, 6-0 before falling to Jesse Adler of the Big Green, 6-4, 6-2. Ellen de Jong fell to Elizabeth Warnack 6-4, 6-3.

Scouting Dartmouth
Dartmouth sports an impressive 5-1 record on the season. They are coming off a big 4-3 win over #75 nationally ranked Furman on Sunday. They have defeated Furman, Stony Brook, Albany, Boston College and Long Island this season.

Series History with Fordham
•Fordham and UMass have met nine times in the past with UMass holding an 8-1 advantage.
•UMass won the last match, on April 6, 2005, 7-0.

Scouting Fordham
This marks only the second match of the spring for Fordham. They fell to Quinnipiac, 6-1 on February 18. They went 2-1 on the fall season, defeating NJIT and Saint Joseph's while falling to Rhode Island.

Harvard Added To Schedule, Barry Match Cancelled
Please note a match that has recently been added to the schedule. UMass will travel to Cambridge on March 13 to play Harvard at 3 p.m. That takes the place of the match scheduled for March 21 at Barry University, which has been cancelled.

Chasing 63 ...
Senior Michele Spiess is looking to make history. Heading into the weekend at Darmouth, she is seven singles wins shy of tying Jackie Braunstein's UMass record of 63. If she gets the record, it would be in only three years. Keep track of her progress throughout the season by checking www.umassathletics.com.

Last Time Out: Women's Tennis Falls To Brown 5-2
The University of Massachusetts women's tennis team (3-2) fell to Brown University in a hard-fought match on Saturday. Brown took the doubles point then four out of six singles matches to win 5-2. Masha Pozar was the player of the day for the Minutewomen as she won at No. 2 singles 7-6 (5) 7-5 and No. 2 doubles 8-3. The Minutemen enjoy five days off before they continue on the road on Friday at Dartmouth.

Brown, playing their second match on Saturday, came out strong in doubles. Michelle Pautler and Sara Mansur defeated Michele Spiess and Ellen de Jong 8-2. Masha Pozar and Maude Lecluyse evened doubles at one with their 8-3 win. Laura Murillo and Dasa Stanimirovic fell in a tight match at No. 3, 8-5.

In singles play, freshman Dasa Stanimirovic fell at No. 4. Ellen de Jong won at No. 3, 6-4, 6-4, to cut the deficit to one. Pozar evened the score at two with a gritty win at No. 2, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5. She found herself down late in both sets, but fought back to win.

Maude Lecluyse was up a set at No. 5 after winning 6-3. She struggled in the second set, before pulling out due to illness.

In a three hour marathon match, Michele Spiess fell in a classic to Daisy Ames. The match featured many twists and turns as Spiess was up a set after winning the first convincingly, 6-2. Ames fought back to force a third set. Spiess was up 1-0 in the third set before falling 6-4. Stephanie Gimenez completed the evening, falling in a tight contest at No. 6, 6-4, 7-5.

Last Home Match: Women's Tennis Bounces Back With Thrilling 4-3 Victory Over St. John's
The UMass women's tennis team (3-1) bounced back from a tough 4-3 loss on Saturday, by turning the table and winning 4-3 over St. John's on Sunday. UMass took the doubles point, and three singles matches for the victory. Maude Lecluyse and Stephanie Gimenez had two clutch victories at Nos. 5 and 6. It was do or die; if either lost, St. John's would have been victorious. But both came through, and delivered victory number three on the season for the Minutewomen.

Doubles proved to be successful, as UMass took Nos. 1 and 3. Lauren Leo of St. John's had to pull out at No. 3 due to a previous injury that flared up. UMass then took No. 2, 8-2. Michele Spiess and Ellen de Jong battled, but fell at No. 1, 8-3.

In singles, Dasa Stanimirovic fell defeat 6-0, 6-0 to even the overall score at one. Masha Pozar fell at No. 2, 6-1, 6-3, to make it 2-1 St. John's. Senior Michele Spiess evened the score with a hard-fought and convincing win at No. 1, 6-2, 6-3. She moved within seven of tying the UMass all-time singles record.

Ellen de Jong then fell at No. 3, in the only match that went three sets. It came down to Maude Lecluyse and Stephanie Gimenez. If St. John's took one, they would be victorious.

Lecluyse played her best tennis of the young season, coming up big with a 6-4, 6-0 win. All eyes were on Stephanie Gimenez. She was up to the task, defeating Ashley Harper 6-1, 6-3.

Doubles:
#1 Alison Adamski/Maria Zivcicova (SJ) def. Michele Spiess/Ellen de Jong (UM) 8-3
#2 Masha Pozar/Maude Lecluyse (UM) def. Nataly Tumsevica/Ira Aleksova (SJ) 8-2
#3 Laura Murillo/Dasa Stanimirovic (UM) were leading 3-2 before winning by default due to St. John's injury

Singles:
#1 Michele Spiess (UM) def. Nataly Tumsevica (SJ) 6-2, 6-3
#2 Maria Zivcicova (SJ) def. Masha Pozar (UM) 6-1, 6-3
#3 Allison Adamski (SJ) def. Ellen de Jong (UM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
#4 Ira Aleksova (SJ) def. Dasa Stanimirovic (UM) 6-0, 6-0
#5 Maude Lecluyse (UM) def. Gabija Gasiunaite (SJ) 6-4, 6-0
#6 Stephanie Gimenez (UM) def. Ashley Harper (SJ) 6-1, 6-3