PREVIEW: Women's Tennis Enters Season with Talent, Confidence

Regis Athletics Fall Previews

Men's Cross Country: Pride Looks To Youth Movement For Success in 2017
Women's Cross Country: Expectations High for Experienced Women's Cross Country
Men's Soccer: Veteran Group Leads Men's Soccer Into New Era
Women's Volleyball: Turiano, Veterans Look to Build New Tradition
Women's Soccer: Women's Soccer Looking To Build On 2016 Success
Field Hockey: Field Hockey Ready For Learning Process In The GNAC

WESTON, Mass. - Only an early September loss prevented the 2016-17 team from delivering a perfect season, but it was nonetheless the best in program history as the Regis (Mass.) women’s tennis team went 16-1 on its way to a fifth straight league title.

With the success of the Pride a year ago and armed with a solid returning core, the team has every right  to be confident heading into its first season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. With the league season taking place in the fall, the Pride will have little time to experiment with its singles and doubles lineup. Newcomers and veterans alike will need to showcase their skills early to compete for court time.

“Strong returners include Ariana McCormack (Worcester, Mass.), Katasha Jarvis (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and Carly Scanlon (Canton, Mass.),” said Regis coach John Ciarleglio who enters his eighth season at the helm of the women’s team. “We also have a pair of seniors in Amy DiPace (Cambridge, Mass.) and Sarah Kanarkiewicz (Peabody, Mass.) who will also play a role in our success.”

Scanlon was the Pride’s most successful singles player, playing mainly on the four and five courts for an overall and team-best 13-1 record. McCormack, last season’s NECC Rookie of the Year, and Jarvis, the NECC Tournament’s MVP, were nearly as dominant both notching 11 singles wins on the season.

Despite nearly half of the Pride’s individual singles wins coming from that trio, none were earned on the No. 1 court which was occupied exclusively by outgoing senior Erica Murphy (Portsmouth, N.H.). Add newcomer Carly Donovan (Harwich, Mass.) to the mix and only time will tell who will emerge from that group as the team’s No. 1 singles player.

Ciarleglio mentioned the aforementioned Donovan as a player to watch. “Carly Donovan had a lot of success at Monomoy Regional High School where she earned a lot of accolades,” he said of Donovan who was a four-time all-star and two-time league MVP.

Newcomers Gracie Jarest (Wrentham, Mass.) and Sarah Michaud (Beverly, Mass.) will also have a chance to see court time as freshman. “We saw Gracie Jarest play and it was a nice surprise to see her level,” added Ciarleglio. “Just recently we picked up Sarah Michaud who we hope will be cleared sometime during the season.”

And how will the the Pride fare as the newest member of the GNAC? It’s been a mixed bag of success over the past several seasons against the Pride’s current conference foes. Last season Regis squared off with two of the conference’s top teams, beating Suffolk but losing to eventual champion Johnson & Wales (RI), the team’s only loss of the season. Along with Simmons, Suffolk and JWU finished the regular season as tri-champions each with a 5-1 record.

With an eye on the fall championship season, Regis opens at Eastern Nazarene (Sept. 6) then plays its home opener Sept. 16 vs former NECC foe Lesley. Outside of a mid-October match versus Smith, GNAC competition populates the remainder of the fall schedule with the league opener Sept. 23 at St. Joseph (CT). The Pride then host three straight matches against the aforementioned powers Suffolk (Sept. 27), Simmons (Sept. 30) and Johnson & Wales (RI) (Oct. 4). The regular season comes to a close Oct. 14 vs. Albertus Magnus. If Ciarleglio’s expectations are met, the team will take part in its first-ever GNAC Tournament slated for the following week.