On the schedule, it counts as a home dual meet. Unfortunately for the Boston University women’s tennis team, the ongoing construction at Nickerson Field forced the match against the 59th ranked Boston College Eagles to take place at Harvard’s Murr Center, the site of a painful, one-point loss against Harvard earlier this semester and another one-point loss to the Eagles, 4-3, yesterday afternoon.
Much like the team’s other one-point losses, the difference in yesterday’s match was the doubles point that was BU’s to lose, according to freshman Lindsay Dynof. In the No. 2 doubles slot, Dynof and freshman Elena deMendoza lost, 8-6, to Boston College’s Jessica Engel and Allison Ashley.
“The match was ours,” a frustrated Dynof said. “It came down to the doubles, and Elena and I definitely should have won.”
Dynof and deMendoza roared back from a 4-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead, putting the Terriers in prime position to grab the doubles point. After splitting the next two games, Dynof and deMendoza lost the final three games, paving the way for BC’s victory.
“[Engel and Ashley] weren’t good at doubles at all,” Dynof said. “They weren’t aggressive, and they didn’t work well together. All we had to do was hit the ball back over the net and we didn’t do that. We had the match and then unforced errors [hurt us].”
Dynof said she thinks playing doubles before the singles matches breeds complacency, especially since one cannot predict the closeness of a match and, by extension, the importance of each point.
“Since doubles are played first, I think that it’s not taken as seriously,” she said. “Imagine playing a match at 3-3 and then having to play doubles and knowing that doubles is what’s going to make the difference. It’s a totally different outlook.”
This season, women’s tennis has switched its format from singles-first to doubles-first. Although it affected BU in yesterday’s match, it did not seem to be as much of an obstacle in Saturday’s road victory against Syracuse University.
“We need to focus more from the beginning and start off early,” Dynof said.
The Terriers’ No. 1 doubles team of senior co-captain Carrie Rose and junior Christina Causway had little trouble focusing, winning their match, 8-6. Their victory went for naught as the Terriers’ No. 3 team of senior co-captain Hsaio Ning Ham and sophomore Alana Marcu lost to the Eagles’ Emily Hellberg and Kiren Fernando.
Already trailing by a point, the Terriers nearly took four of the six singles matches required to pull the upset. The match was tied, 3-3, after Rose (6-3, 6-2), Dynof (6-3, 6-2) and deMendoza (7-5, 6-3) won at Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. In a repeat of Saturday’s match against Syracuse, Marcu’s was the last match left to be finished. With each team watching, Marcu lost in three sets 3-6, 7-6, 1-6 to Anisha Fernando.
“She played a very good match,” said BU coach Lesley Sheehan of Marcu. “You can’t bring a whole match down to her.”
In the No. 1 singles slot, Causway fell to Eagles senior Cynthia Tow 1-6, 4-6, and in the No. 6 match, freshman Hannah Bartell lost to Hellberg 2-6, 0-6.
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