The Boston University women’s tennis team has a habit they won’t want to break.
Dominating the America East Conference for over a decade, this year looks to be no different after the team continued its winning ways this past weekend.
The Terriers started their season off on the right foot Saturday afternoon, defeating the United States Military Academy, 7-0, at the Track and Tennis Center. The Terriers won all six singles matches plus all three doubles matches to take the doubles point.
Senior Erin Katims started the day off on the right foot, defeating Niki Flach, 6-0, in consecutive sets. Sophomore Yana Sadovskaya followed with the closest match of the day, but she still beat Army’s Sarah Giles-Madden handily, taking the first set, 6-2, and the second set, 6-4.
Sophomore Danielle Abraham continued the Terriers’ winning streak by beating Jessica Shurtz in two convincing sets, 6-0 and 6-1. In the fourth match of the day, sophomore Cori Lefkowith outmaneuvered Brook Jones to the victory, taking the first set by a score of 6-2, and the second, 6-3. Her win, which made the team’s score 4-0, clinched the match for the Terriers.
BU freshman Liz Corrao kicked off her collegiate career beating Kristen Beehler 6-3 in the first set and 6-1 in the second. In the last singles match of the day, junior Katie Draganova defeated Paige Ford in the closest set of the event. It took Draganova seven points before she amassed a two-point lead to finish the set, 7-5. Draganova quashed any hope of a close match, winning the second set 6-0.
The senior Katims and freshman Corrao paired up as the Terriers’ first doubles team, working well together in their 8-6 victory over Sarah Giles-Madden and Brook Jones. Katie Draganova and Danielle Abraham won BU’s eighth match of the day by a score of 9-7 against Niki Flach and Jessica Shurtz.
Lefkowith and Sadovskaya finished the successful day on a great note, shutting out Beehler and Christine Limsiaco, 8-0, epitomizing BU’s overall dominance during the match.
The Terriers have 16 more matches this season, with seven of those coming at home. After their final home regular season match versus Quinnipiac University, the team will travel to the America East Championships held at Yale University, starting April 27.
The Terriers look to defend their conference title, which they have held for 13 years.
BU finished with a 15-7 record last year, beat Stony Brook University in the semifinals and defeated Binghamton University in the finals to claim the America East trophy. Disappointingly, they then fell to No. 7 University of Miami, 4-0, in the first round of its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Co-captain Katims was the star of the America East Tournament last season, grabbing the first singles and second doubles spots on the All-Championship Team. Katims was joined by former Terriers Abraham, Leftkowith, Gina Sabatino, and Sadovskaya in the singles spots. Former captain Monica Shepherd paired with Sabatino in the first doubles, Katims and former Terrier Laura Ahmes were second doubles, and Lefkowith and Abraham were third.
The team aims to continue its dominance of the conference this season, and if the meet Saturday is any indication of its success, it should expect nothing short of a conference title for a 14th straight year.