 "Photo: Carola Dipoi")
Over the past few months, Terrier teams have proven that late-season turnarounds aren't unlikely occurrences on Comm. Ave.
Like the men's basketball and hockey teams, the Boston University men's tennis team (4-10, 2-3 America East) is looking for that same post-break momentum to propel it to winning ways.
After returning from a disappointing Spring Break trip in which BU dropped 7-0 road defeats to Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina State University and The Citadel Military College, the Terriers hope to find a spark that will ignite a run into next month's America East Tournament. With three matches left before postseason play, lessons from the recent losses need to be taken to heart if the hopes to gain momentum for the upcoming conference tournament are to be realized.
"We've been on a pretty bad losing streak and played some pretty tough teams, but we hope all the matches we're playing will allow us to get a little more matched up going into the America East Championships," said BU coach Tim Lipsky. "The experience of losing three matches in a row on the Spring Break trip will serve to help us in terms of exposing us to a higher level of tennis as opposed to demoralizing us."
Lipsky said he is optimistic BU will right itself in the near future.
"[The next few matches] should be more closely played and hopefully will give us a little bit of a boost going into the tournament," he said.
The Terriers have a chance to dig out the wagon next Monday at Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers hope to avenge a 6-1 loss the Terriers handed them earlier this season.
"They were undermanned last time we played them and we beat them, 6-1," he said. "It will be tougher this time because three of the guys in their top six were not in the lineup that day, but I expect them to be full strength this time. [It's going to be] a tough match and a close one, but definitely one that we're capable of winning.
"Hopefully a win under our belt would get to the guys after so many losses and it will start to bring our confidence back," he continued.
Confidence is what the Terriers need as they close out their season against Sacred Heart, the University of Connecticut and Boston College.
BU faces BC for a second time after losing 6-1 to Eagles in October, and the Terriers are intent on returning the favor this spring.
"We contested a lot of those matches when we played them in the fall," Lipsky said. "I'm hoping we can play them closer this spring. It would be a tall order to beat them, but at least we can play them close."
A Carolina Collapse
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7-7) defeated the Terriers March 9 despite the efforts of junior Miron Nissim and senior Danny Frid, who extended their respective matches to three sets.
South Carolina State (9-1) continued its winning ways last Wednesday, recording its ninth straight victory with a 7-0 win over BU.
The Terriers rounded out the trip against The Citadel on Saturday. Sophomore Jeff Chudacoff rallied during his singles match, but ultimately fell to freshman Yufo Sutantio, 6-3, 1-6, 1-0.
The Terriers have plenty of room for improvement over the next two weeks. Losing three straight in South Carolina exposed the team's weaknesses, but BU still has an opportunity to address its shortcomings before the conference tournament.
"The guys [now] have a better sense of what they need to work on," Lipsky said. "Hopefully in the next week and a half before the tournament we can work on those things."
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