If the Tufts women's tennis team feels a bit overlooked, that's understandable. The Jumbos, after all, did finish 1998 ranked sixth in the East, which is quite impressive, given the approximately 140 schools in the region.
Unfortunately, Tufts happens to be a part of the NESCAC, of which last season's national champion, Amherst, and the second-ranked team in the East, Williams, are both members.
The team wouldn't want it any other way, though. The fact that matches at Williams and Amherst were scheduled to open the Jumbos' 1999 schedule was no accident. The young squad was prepared to jump into the season with both feet this fall.
The team entered Saturday's home opener against Smith at 0-1 after a loss and a postponement, but evened out its record in convincing fashion. The first doubles team of freshman Katie Nordstrom and sophomore Erika Lee got the Jumbos off on the right foot with an 8-1 win. The other two teams, sophomore Heather Rich and freshman Emily Warshauer, and freshman Rachel Hammerman and junior Jennifer Lai, were perfect, posting 8-0 victories.
The doubles teams were successful in taking the pressure off the singles players, who only needed to win two of six matches to beat Smith. It would not have mattered in any case. Nordstrom, Lee, Rich, Warshauer, Hammerman, and sophomore Daniela Fontecilla were dominant. No Jumbo lost more than two games in any set, and the team came away with a 9-0 win.
Smith did not put up much of a fight, but much of that had to do with Tufts' dominance.
"It was good to get a win under our belts, albeit it wasn't a very competitive match," coach Jim Watson said afterwards.
The win followed a week's layoff, as Wednesday's scheduled match against Amherst was postponed due to the weather. The toughest test on the schedule would have to wait for another day. The team did get to play its season-opener against Williams last Saturday, however.
The three doubles matches to open the afternoon left Tufts somewhat encouraged about its prospects for the match. The number-one doubles team of Nordstrom and Lee lost its eight game pro set, 8-3 and Rich and Warshauer did not fare much better, falling by a count of 8-5. But the third team of Hammerman and junior captain Sucharita Kuchibhotla came through with an 8-5 win, and the Jumbos trailed two matches to one.
Unfortunately, Williams was able to show why it is a national powerhouse when the singles portion of the day began. Nordstrom lost the number-one singles match 6-4, 6-4 and Lee could not overcome her opponent in a 6-1, 6-2 loss. The rest of the women were unable to win a game in the first set and fell as well. Rich lost 6-0, 6-2 and Warshauer was defeated 6-0, 6-3. Fontecilla and Hammerman both lost their matches by the identical scores of 6-0, 6-1.
"They were a better team," Watson said. "They were steadier, more consistent, and they had better skills. We played well, but not for long enough."
The 8-1 loss probably said more about Williams' greatness than it did about the young Jumbos. Tufts has a team that appears a tier below both Amherst and Williams, but as good as anyone after that in the NESCAC. Its chief rivals, and the teams most similar in terms of talent level, are Bowdoin and Wesleyan. Each appears on the schedule this year, in what should be a crucial three-day stretch. Bowdoin will visit the Voute Courts on October 9, followed by a trip to Wesleyan two days later.
If the team is on par with those two, then the year will be a relative success. Seven of the top ten women are freshmen or sophomores, including all six singles players, so the Jumbos know that even better days may await them in the next few seasons. In fact, only one player, Tracy Trager, is a member of the Class of 2000. That does not mean that this is a rebuilding year by any stretch, though.
"In spite of the first match, we're still easily a top-12 national team," Watson said. "We're just going to get better and better. We're a very young team and I have three to four years left with these players."
Watson can somewhat make up for the team's lack of experience. Watson, who is entering his 19th season, appeared in Sports Illustrated in the fall of 1995 following his 100th win. Having his steady hand guiding them should help the Tufts women overcome their inexperience.
If so, a slightly easier schedule, at least after the season-opening gauntlet, may lend itself to an improvement over last year's 7-6 record. However, that record is a little bit deceptive as the team lost to two Division I schools, Providence and Harvard, last year. This fall, Providence has been replaced by Wesleyan, a more traditional Division III opponent.
In the more immediate future, Tufts faces Wellesley on Thursday. The match offers an opportunity for the Jumbos to redeem themselves after one of the team's most difficult and shocking losses of 1998.
Even with the team back on the winning track, a post-season berth is nearly impossible, as only the top two teams in the East make it. On the other hand, this fall could serve as an opportunity to cement the program's place as one of the best in the country.
