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The Maryland tennis team wrapped up its five-game homestand this weekend with matches against Wisconsin and Minnesota at the JTCC. As per the norm this season, the Terps struggled in both matches and ultimately lost to the Badgers on Saturday and the Golden Gophers on Sunday.
With the weekend sweep, the Terps crossed the halfway point of their season and fell to 3-9 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.
Saturday: Wisconsin 4, Maryland 0
The Terps kicked off the weekend against an 8-2 Wisconsin team that started the season on a six-game win streak. The Terps continued their struggles in doubles matches as Amber Policare and Arnelle Sullivan dropped their match 6-1 and Saya Usui and Anastasiia Gevel lost 6-4. Millie Stretton and Eva Alexandrova were down 5-4 when their match was called.
With the Terps already down 1-0, it didn’t take long for Wisconsin to secure a 4-0 victory. Policare was the first Terp to drop her match as she lost 6-3, 6-2. Usui followed soon after with a 6-3, 6-3 loss. There would be no miracle comeback for the Terps on Saturday as Eva Alexandrova lost 6-4, 7-5 to end the match.
Although the match was called after Alexandrova lost, the rest of Terps played pretty well. Stretton was well on her way to a win, as she was two points away from victory. Gevel and Sullivan also won their first sets, respectively, but didn’t have time to complete their matches.
Sunday: Minnesota 6, Maryland 1
Maryland overcame its doubles-point struggles in this match and took the point two games to one. Alexandrova and Stretton overpowered their opponents en route to a 6-1 win, while Usui and Gevel lost by the same margin. WIth all eyes on Sullivan and Policare, the Terps’ duo fought their way to a 6-4 win to give Maryland an early match lead.
Unfortunately, it would serve as the last victory of the day for Maryland, as all six singles matches went to Minnesota as the Golden Gophers won 6-1.
Alexandrova and Kulkarni were the first two Terps to lose, both in straight sets. Policare would also lose in straight sets, although her first set went into a tiebreak. As with Saturday’s match, there would be no extraordinary comeback for Maryland as Gevel solidified another Terps loss as she fell 7-5, 6-4.
The teams agreed to finish out the remaining matches, but Stretton and Sullivan would both lose in long three-set matches. Stretton lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 while Sullivan lost 6-4, 2-6, 5-7.
In a strange schedule quirk, the Terps will head to the Sunshine State to take on an 8-7 South Florida team in Tampa on Saturday. Maryland’s Big Ten schedule resumes March 29 at Northwestern.