Women’s Tennis Begins Season at Simmons Wednesday

SUFFOLK at SIMMONS
Date Time Venue Series Last Meeting Last Suffolk Win Streak	Wednesday, Sept. 6 3:30 PM Daly Field Brighton, Mass. 3-24 (Since 2000) Sept. 7, 2022, L, 6-3 Oct. 13, 2018, W, 7-2 L2

BOSTON – Suffolk women's tennis opens its 2023 campaign with a Beantown battle at Simmons Wednesday, Sept. 6. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 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.

RAMS ROOKIES
Over the offseason, second-year head coach Drew Goldstein recruited three newcomers to join the Suffolk women's tennis squad for the 2023 campaign. The new faces feature a pair of true freshmen in Nia Bebb and Alex Kickham and sophomore Diana Palomino.  

MORE READING: Women's Tennis Adds Trio for 2023 

GEOGRAPHY 101
Suffolk's women's tennis has a diverse make-up with seven athletes hailing from five states and a pair of international Rams.  

State side, Suffolk's U.S. natives hail from Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. Internationally, student-athletes stretch across Belarus and Peru. 

CLASS CATEGORIES
The Rams roster is mixed. There are two seniors, sophomores and freshman and one junior.  

RAMS RINGLEADERS
On the morning of its debut, Suffolk women's tennis' head coach Drew Goldstein has named the senior tandem of Caren Urbano and Angela Gross as co-captains for the 2023 campaign.  

MORE READING: Duo to Captain Women's Tennis in 2023

COACH'S COURT
Drew Goldstein joined Suffolk Athletics as the women's tennis head coach in the summer of 2022 and began his second season that fall.

Suffolk has provided Goldstein with his first collegiate head coaching opportunity; however, his resume is tacked with two decades of experience of running junior and adult programs.

OPENING ACT

• Since 2007, Suffolk sports a 5-10 opening day record.
• Suffolk looks for its first match one win since blanking St. Joseph (Conn.), 9-0, Sept. 11, 2021.
• The blue-and-gold begins the year on the road for the third straight season. Suffolk is 1-7 when pulling the curtain back on the season away from home since 2007.
• The blue-and-gold will battle Simmons in its first match of the year for the second consecutive campaign. 
• Three matches have been decided in shutout fashion in the season debut since 2007. Suffolk is 1-2 in both instances. 
• Suffolk is 0-1 in its first outing of the year in the Drew Goldstein era.  

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In a vote by the Commonwealth Coast Conference's (CCC) seven head coaches, Suffolk women's tennis has been projected to finish fifth in the CCC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

MORE READING: Women's Tennis Picked Fifth in CCC Coaches Preseason Poll 

SHARKS SAYINGS
Simmons (0-2) has two bouts under its belt this season as the Sharks took on Suffolk's Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) counterparts Roger Williams and Gordon. The Hawks and Fighting Scots blanked Simmons by identical 9-0 margins. 

Emilie Lapointe has played as the Sharks ace in both matches thus far. She has also been one racquet in the top tandem alongside Julia Perconti. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk and Simmons met in last season's season opener. 
• The Sharks won that dual, 6-3, Sept. 7, 2022.
• Since 2000, Suffolk has tangled with Simmons 27 times. The Rams are 3-24 in the series.
• The Rams last win over the Sharks came via a 7-2 score Oct. 13, 2018. 
• Suffolk is 0-1 against Simmons under Drew Goldstein's guidance. 

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
The Rams head to Saint Joseph (Conn.) Monday, Sept. 11 for a 3:30 p.m. outing.