UConn women's tennis to try again at starting up its season

After being rained out only four matches into the Fairfield Doubles Festival, the women’s tennis team is looking for another opportunity to kick off the fall season at the Quinnipiac Invitational this weekend.

Before inclement weather prematurely ended the tournament, duos Jennifer Learmonth and Lucy Nutting, Abby McKeon and Maxie Weinberg, Alex Bergman and Marie Gargiulo and Natalie Robson and Emilie Burgess each notched wins against their opponents. Sarah Griffin and Julia Allen were mid-match when the tournament was called off. In spite of the cancellation, these strong performances gave Coach Glenn Marshall a good impression about this weekend’s competition.

“It shows some of the work we’ve been doing in doubles, getting prepared in the skillset required to win,” Marshall said. “It was good to get out and not just play ourselves anymore—to get competition in.”

The Quinnipiac Invitational will be held from Sept. 14 to 16 in Hamden. The tournament will feature singles and doubles play, the first tournament of the season offering both forms for the Huskies. The tournament’s schedule has doubles play on Friday, singles play on Saturday, and the final matches on Sunday a setup in which many of the Huskies feel like they can succeed.

“[We’ll] try and get the competitive juices going, see them in match play situations, which is totally different than practice situations,” Marshall said. “[We’ll watch] how they react with pressure, with scores being up and down, and having to battle—and all the intangibles that come with competition. So everyone’s really excited to get started and get on the court and play against somebody else.”

Last season, Jennifer Learmonth advanced to the final round of competition in the “A” flight of singles. Maxie Weinberg advanced to the semifinals of the “B” flight, while Lauren Wilmarth advanced to the semifinals of the “C” flight. Both Learmonth and Weinberg, who have returned to play for another season, hope to continue their success from last year in this weekend’s competition.

“I’m hoping to compete well and hopefully play well all weekend,” said Weinberg. “I know what to expect because I am no longer a freshman, so that may help a bit.”

Holding practices six days a week, the women’s team is hoping to take advantage of this second opportunity to start off the season strong. Marshall said the team would closely watch the matches with Seton Hall and Providence, two of the Huskies’ Big East opponents. He stated that he’s looking to watch the new players on both of these teams to gauge the competition in the future.

The members of the UConn team, express a lot of confidence in their ability to perform well. The Huskies hope that this confidence will translate into a solid performance at this weekend’s tournament.

“I think my team is in a great place and we are coming together well this year,” said Weinberg. “I feel strongly about the team as a whole going into the tournament this weekend.”