The women’s tennis team registered a dominant performance against Boston University on Sunday, defeating the Terriers 7–0 at home in New Haven.
Yale (3–2, 0–0 Ivy), currently the No. 34 team in the nation, had no issues dismantling Boston University (3–4, 0–0 Patriot). The Bulldogs swept the doubles match for the first point of the afternoon, then claimed all six singles matches in straight sets.
“This Sunday was a great match for Yale women’s tennis,” captain Annie Sullivan ’14 said in an email. “Our 7-0 score demonstrates that every one of us came out ready to play and get their point for the team.”
The Elis were coming off a tough match against No. 51 Columbia in the ECAC Indoor Championship Finals, where they lost 4–1 on Feb. 9. Against the Lions, the Bulldogs were able to muster only one point when Hanna Yu ’15 defeated her opponent, 6–3, 6–2.
But the team was able to get back on track against the Terriers, winning without dropping a single set all afternoon.
“We went into Sunday really focused on improving from our match against Columbia,” Ree Ree Li ’16 said. “Everyone had their individual goals that they wanted to accomplish in their matches, and I think we all performed well.”
To capture the doubles point, the two schools each sent forth three teams of players, each of which played one set: whichever school won two of the three sets would win the doubles point. Madeleine Hamilton ’16, the team’s top singles player, teamed with Li to win the No. 1 doubles match, 6–3. In the second set, Yu and Sherry Li ’17 defeated their Boston University counterparts, 6–2. Courtney Amos ’16 and Sullivan were on their way to a win, but the match was suspended at 5–2 after the two other Yale teams had already won their sets.
The Bulldogs carried the momentum from their doubles matches into their singles matches. Hamilton dismantled her opponent 6–2, 6–4, while Ree Ree Li made short work of her adversary, 6–3, 6–2. Sullivan faced a tougher matchup, needing to go into a tiebreak in the first set to win 7–6 (7–5), 6–4. Both Yu and Sherry Li followed in the footsteps of their teammates, each winning, 6–2, 6–1. Amos was challenged by her adversary and nearly went into a third set before putting her opponent away, 6–1, 7–5.
“We can definitely take confidence from this match as we approach this upcoming weekend,” Ree Ree Li said. “There is going to be some tough competition this weekend but like every tournament we go in with the belief and goal of winning. We’ve been training really hard all year so we will just continue doing so in preparation for this weekend.”
The team has a tough slate ahead of them, starting with its next tournament.
The match against Boston University is a prelude to the team’s upcoming weekend, where Yale will face some of the top teams in the nation, including No. 10 Virginia and No. 16 Alabama.
“We are so excited to play against some of the top teams in the country this weekend in Alabama,” Sullivan said. “We realize this weekend is a remarkable opportunity to upset high-ranked teams and to show what our team is capable of. Our team is very ready to rise up to the challenges and win close matches.”
The Bulldogs will travel to Alabama for the Blue Gray Invite this weekend starting on Friday.