FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With the first week of competition already in the books, Fairfield University women's tennis heads back out on the road Sunday afternoon, closing a three game road trip at UMass. First serve between the Stags and the Minutewomen is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Bay Road Indoor Tennis Center in Amherst, Mass.
GAME REWIND: FEB. 1 – FAIRFIELD AT UCONN
The second consecutive match against a BIG EAST Conference opponent, the Stags headed up to Storrs last Wednesday to do battle with the Huskies. Despite UConn earning the team victory for the match, several Stags left the weekend with their first victories of the spring as Fairfield nabbed the doubles point from the hosts in the early portion of the day.
A clean sweep of the doubles round was started with a victory by Lize-Alet Morkel and Paulina Bakaite in the topflight by a final of 6-4, followed by a finish in the No. 2 contest by the same scoreline courtesy of Francesca Karman and Sarah Liu. Closing out the runaway round for the squad were Aina March and Scarlett Hutchinson who went to a tiebreak before an 8-6 win to settle the score and secure the point. All three doubles pairing's we're first time groupings for the Stags this season, leaving all three at a perfect 1-0 heading into Sunday's match at UMass.
SCOUTING THE UMASS MINUTEWOMEN
With two matches done and dusted as well, UMass enters play at 1-1, and returns to play 24 hours after capturing its first victory of the campaign over Siena, 6-1 Saturday afternoon. The Minutewomen swept the double round over the Saints, who would earn a single point by defaults in the No. 6 duel, before picking up head to head wins in the remaining singles flights.
STAGS STATLINES
Posting a combined 20 wins in singles action and eight in doubles play during an abbreviated fall campaign helped to give the Stags some footing as they returned to campus last semester, including experience for a trio of newcomers to the team. Lize-Alet Morkel, the sister of former Stag Charlie Morkel, M.A. '22 joined the program last fall after transferring from UNC Asheville, in addition to a pair of freshmen in both Meg Harding and Sarah Liu.
Leading the squad from last fall is Morkel who earned the most wins in the most action for the Stags, garnering five wins to place her one ahead of Harding and both Liu and Francesca Karman with three apiece. On the doubles side, Bakaite and Laina Campos lead the way for Fairfield with three wins in four matches together, which also ties them for the individual lead on the team.
STACK THE MAAC
Fairfield's tennis programs are no strangers to the conference postseason, with both teams having reached the MAAC title game at least once in the last five years, and the women's squad having last hoisted the trophy in 2019. Both squads enter the spring campaign poised to make significant moves in the MAAC, and the rest of the league has already begun to take notice. The women's squad, following last season's run to West Windsor, N.J. the Stags we're tabbed to finish second in the MAAC when the season comes to an end, finishing behind only Quinnipiac. In addition, the Fairfield men's squad was tabbed as the favorites to claim the title, setting up a potential sweep for the Stags come the end of April.
SURVEYING THE SPRING
With a total of 19-matches on the docket this spring, the Stags will play eight games at home, with the first four contests scheduled indoors at the Tennis Club of Trumbull, and the latter of the bunch slated to be played on campus at the WAC Tennis Courts.
Amidst the non-conference side of the schedule, Fairfield will see teams from seven different conferences, including four opponents from the BIG EAST and NEC, in addition to single games against A10, America East, CAA, Patriot League, and Summit League competition. The Stags will open the season with a single game in January but will face the bulk of their competition later in the year, with eight matches slated for the month of March, sandwiched between five games in both February and April.
DOWN THE ROAD
Following Sunday's contest, Fairfield women's tennis returns to action next weekend as they return to Connecticut to open a three-game home stand at the Tennis Club of Trumbull. The Stags will host Stony Brook Friday at 8:00 p.m. and will have less than a 24 hour swing before a Saturday night meeting with Lafayette at 6:00 p.m.
