2021 Season Opener Sends Women’s Tennis to St. Joseph (Conn.) Saturday

SUFFOLK at St. Joseph (Conn.)
Date Time Venue Series Last Meeting Last Suffolk Win Streak	Saturday, Sept. 11 12:00 PM Elizabeth Speer Tennis Complex West Hartford, Conn. Suffolk Leads, 12-1 Sept. 21, 2019, L, 6-3 Oct. 3, 2018, W, 8-1 L1

BOSTON – The Suffolk women's tennis team's 2021 campaign will commence this Saturday, Sept. 11 when the Rams make the trip to St. Joseph (Conn.). First serve is on tap for 12 p.m. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

SUFFOLK ATHLETICS 2021-22 FAN POLICY
Suffolk University Athletics, following guidance from the University's health and safety protocols, Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, plans to allow fans to attend home athletic contests during the 2021-22 academic and athletic year.

Fans, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, can attend games. They must be masked the entire time they are on campus, pursuant to institutional policy, and complete a health screening form at the security desk of each building upon arrival. This policy applies to home contests played on campus at the Ridgeway Building's Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court, as well as the Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink and the Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.

For outdoor outings, specifically at East Boston Memorial Park, fans are asked to respect COVID safety protocols. At this time, masks will not be mandated for fans no matter vaccinated status at outdoor venues.

MORE READING: Suffolk Athletics Announces Fan Policy for 2021-22

RAPID REWIND

Two years ago, Suffolk wrapped up its tenure in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). With a young roster, the Rams managed to poked into the win column just once, a 7-2 decision at Albertus Magnus, over 12 matches.   

RAMS ROSTER
Suffolk's nine-member squad boasts six returners, and a mixture of newcomers, both true freshman and a grad transfer. 

WELCOME BACK
Suffolk brings back its top two racquets from 2019 in Ilda Ascic and Kendall Smith. The pair teamed up for the blue-and-gold's top tandem as well. Ascic shined individual as an All-GNAC second-team honoree.  

Juniors Alyssa Blade, Barbara Consales and Bianca Prescott return as well with sophomore Kyra Bernor, who was on roster a year ago, getting the chance to compete for the first time after having her freshman campaign derailed due to COVID-19.  

RAMS ROOKIES
A trio of fresh faces will be added to the Suffolk women's tennis team for the 2021 campaign in graduate student Sarah Mezini and true freshman in Giuliana Claus and Dyani Mosquera.

MORE READING: Women's Tennis Adds Three Newcomers for 2021

RAMS RINGLEADERS
After a season sidelined due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, seniors Ilda Ascic and Kendall Smith return to their post as Suffolk women's tennis co-captains.

MORE READING: Ascic, Smith Return to Post as Women's Tennis Captians in 2021 

GEOGRAPHY 101
Suffolk's women's tennis has a diverse make-up with NINE athletes hailing from three states with four international Rams.

State side, Suffolk has four five U.S. natives with a trio Connecticut local. Massachusetts and New York have one representative apiece.

Internationally, student-athletes stretch across Bosnia, Germany, Panama and Venezuela. 

CLASS CATEGORIES
The Rams roster is mixed. There are three juniors, two seniors and true freshmen, respectively, as well as one graduate student and one sophomore. 

COACH'S COURT
Steve Counihan has served as Suffolk's head coach of both the men's and women's programs on-and-off for the last decade.

Since his time at Suffolk, Counihan has been at the helm of four Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships; one woman's (2007) and three men's (2010-12). 

OPENING ACT

• Since 2007, Suffolk sports a 4-9 opening day record.

• The Rams look to snap a four-match opening-day skid.
• Suffolk's last victory on day one of the season came in a 5-4 thriller over Bridgewater State to lift the lid on the 2015 campaign.
• The blue-and-gold begins the year on the road for the first time since 2017. Suffolk is 0-6 when pulling the curtain back on the season away from home since 2007.
• Suffolk is back at home for its second straight season opener this season. The Rams are 4-3 when playing its debut on their home courts.
• The blue-and-gold will battle St. Joseph (Conn.) in its first match of the year for the first time in the Rams' record books, which date back through the 2007 campaign.
• Only two matches have been decided in shutout fashion in the season debut since 2007. Suffolk is 0-2 in both instances. 

PRESASON PREDICTIONS
As the newest addition to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), Suffolk women's tennis is projected to share seventh in the conference's ranks according to the league's 2021 preseason poll

MORE READING: Women's Tennis Shares Seventh in CCC Preseason Poll 

BLUE JAYS BREAKDOWN
USJ has a full weekend with its season opener set for Friday, Sept. 10 against Rhode Island College, before the Blue Jays battle the Rams Saturday, Sept. 11. 

In 2019, the Blue Jays finished sixth in the regular-season GNAC standings to earn a berth in the conference tournament before falling in the first round to Regis and wrap up the year 5-9.

Just a pair of players are back from two years ago in Elaina Griffiths and Emily Kerr. Griffith compiled a 5-8 record in spots 2-5, while Kerr put together a team-best 9-4 record on courts 3-5. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Rams are 12-1 all-time against the Blue Jays. 
• USJ bested Suffolk, 6-3, in the team's last meeting, Sept. 21, 2019, to to take down the Rams for the first time in the all-time series. 

COMING UP
Suffolk will begin its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) calendar Wednesday, Sept. 15. The Rams' first-ever CCC contest has a 3:30 p.m. first serve.