By Greg Estabrooks, Staff Writer

The women’s tennis team suffered a few rough losses this week and fell to 4-4 on the season. The Corsairs were coming off of 3 straight wins from the previous week, including shutouts against Curry and Leslie and a 6-3 victory over conference opponent Worcester State. In a faceoff at home on Thursday, September 27th against non-league opponent Johnson & Wales, UMass Dartmouth took care of business in the doubles side of the match by winning 2 out of 3 matches. The Corsairs got a win from their number one doubles team of senior Jenna Lahaie and junior Jaime Fastino, as well as from their third seeded team of sophomores Michelle Aftandilian and Jordan Martin. However, only the number one seed Lahaie was able to grab a point in the singles matches, as the visiting Wildcats took four of the five matches that were played. The Wildcats were led by freshman Drew Bobey, who was able to get a win in both singles in doubles with her teammate Claire Perry, a sophomore. By winning the competition 5-3, Johnson & Wales moved to 5-3 on their season. Then just two days later on Saturday, women’s tennis hosted conference rival Salem State on their home courts. The Salem State Vikings would get the best of the Corsairs and top them 7-2. The Vikings got victories from senior Maddie Allaire, juniors Anastasia Startseva and Meredith MacDonald, and sophomore Caroline Robitaille in singles action. The Corsairs were only able to snag two points from the Vikings thanks to their 5th and 6th seeds, as junior Monika Reining and sophomore Emma Sokolovsky pulled out straight set wins. The win moved Salem State to 5-3, and an impressive 4-1 in Little East Conference play. The Corsairs fell to 4-4, and 2-3 in the conference. UMass Dartmouth hits the road on Sunday to play their 4th match in 3 days against Western Connecticut, another conference opponent. So far on the season, Jenna Lahaie is leading the Corsairs in singles wins with a record of 6-2 playing out of the number one seed. Monika Reining and Jaime Fastino trail her with 5 apiece. The first seeded doubles team of Fastino and Lahaie has been dominant so far, as they hold a 6-2 record, and are 3-2 in conference play. The team of Michelle Aftandilian and Jordan Martin has also been solid, as they boast a record of 4-2. UMass Dartmouth women’s tennis currently sits in a tie for 6th place in the conference standings, neck and neck with Southern Maine. Last year’s conference champion Rhode Island College leads the Little East with a perfect record of 4-0 in league play and 8-0 overall. The Corsairs were able to make it to the conference semifinals last year, and they still have time this year to make up some ground in the standings to set themselves up for the postseason. They have 4 conference matches remaining on their schedule, including matchups late in the season against UMass Boston and Castleton who have yet to win a match within the conference. PHOTO COURTESY: CORSAIR ATHLETICS