Quinnipiac women’s tennis closed out its non-conference slate Sunday with a 7-0 win over the University of New Haven in its first game back at Hamden, moving the team to an impressive 6-0 on home court.

After opening up their spring season playing home games at indoor courts in North Haven, the Bobcats have returned to their official home courts on the Mount Carmel Campus.

“I would say the energy being outdoors, having all six courts in a straight line, it’s much more fun and exciting,” sophomore Willow Renton said. “In the indoor courts, we’re split up between four and two, so we never get to see matches five and six.”

Renton was absolutely dominant last season, earning MAAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, along with being named the Most Outstanding Player in the MAAC Tournament.

Anyone who watches Quinnipiac would agree that the 10 players who make up the Bobcats squad love to support each other throughout their matches. Whether it be in warm-ups or the last match, whether they’re playing or not, everyone is constantly each other’s biggest supporters.

“I think we mainly just focus on team energy,” junior Caitlin Flower said on the team’s keys to success. “That’s our main goal is to just keep that up.”

Flower has been very successful throughout her career as a Bobcat, notching her 100th career victory with a singles win and a doubles win with Renton Sunday. The pair have seen great success so far, notching eight wins and participating in the ITA Conference Masters Championships in the fall.

Flower isn’t the only one preaching team energy, as Renton agreed with her point.

“All of us are gonna have bad and good days on the tennis court,” Renton said. “Keeping our energy up always and always supporting each other is what gets us to winning every match.”

Yet, despite going undefeated in North Haven, the squad has failed to record a win on the road, sitting 0-5 in the category.

“I think it’s the competition we play,” Quinnipiac head coach Paula Miller said. “I play a much harder schedule in Yale, Harvard, (Boston College). They don’t come to us.”

Despite the stronger competition, Miller praised the team’s effort and highlighted her team’s determination to win.

“We’ve been tough on the court,” Miller said. “We never give up, even if we’re down, we come back. Even if they lose that first set, they have the confidence that they can still win.”

Furthering Miller’s argument, the team went 3-1 in a set of spring break neutral site matchups, beating St. Thomas University, Marquette University and Western Carolina University. While they haven’t officially won on the road, the Bobcats have proven they can win away from home.

“I think that kind of boosted our confidence,” Miller said. “Usually, in spring break, we play, we don’t usually get as many wins. Everything going forward should be much easier.”

All seven remaining matches for Quinnipiac are in-conference, with the Bobcats already having played their MAAC opener, scoring a 6-1 win against Sacred Heart March 20.

Eight of the 10 players return from last season, a season where Quinnipiac went undefeated in MAAC play en route to its record-setting eighth conference title.

“This year we have a slightly older team,” Flower said. “It’s just kind of a little bit of experience.”

Quinnipiac leans slightly toward upperclassmen with five juniors and one senior, compared to three sophomores and a lone freshman on the squad’s roster.

“They’ve done this twice already,” Miller said. “I think it’s just a much stronger team, close knit because we’ve been together.”

It’s not just the returning players that have chipped in to the success of the Bobcats, as freshman Emily Meng has three singles wins and six doubles wins paired with junior Anagha Shankar.

Additionally, junior Bowling Green transfer Isabella Baker has contributed seven singles wins of her own.

It’s clear that all eyes are set on defending their title and breaking their own record to claim their ninth championship.

The Bobcats will mostly be travelling down the stretch, as four of their seven remaining games will be away. That means they’ll have three more chances to defend their still perfect home record.

The second of the home matches is one of particular interest, as Quinnipiac plays Fairfield. Not only are the Stags the Bobcats’ closest in-conference rival but the two teams have met in the past four straight MAAC title games dating back to 2022.

Quinnipiac’s current focus is on its next match against the Siena Saints on the road, Sunday March 29 at 1:45 p.m.