The women's tennis team finished its fall season with an undefeated record (8-0) and a repeat third place finish at the New England Championships this past weekend at Amherst. But the story of the weekend was the doubles tandem of freshman Jenn Lejb and junior Katie Nordstrom, who won five matches en route to the number one doubles championship.
The duo did not have an easy road to the title, however, as it drew both the second and third ranked doubles teams in the final two matches.
First up was second-ranked Julie Koo and Larisa Egloff of MIT in the semifinals, whom Lejb and Nordstrom disposed of 8-4. That set up a championship showdown with conference rivals Stephanie Fong and Heather Cole of Amherst, the third ranked pair. Again, Lejb and Nordstrom came out on top, this time in two sets (7-6 (7-4), 6-4).
"We were down 1-3, and it seemed like we were always down and trying to figure out how the other team was playing and get ourselves together," Lejb said. "Then we were down 5-6, and I thought we might not be able to pull it through but we kept it strong. The last two points were really exciting, both teams played amazing."
Lejb has also been impressive in her role as the team's number one singles player all season - a rarity for a freshman. She won all her matches without losing a single set and entered New Englands as the second overall seed before ultimately falling in the semifinals.
Aside from Lejb, all five other Jumbos singles competitors fared well. Playing out of the number five singles bracket was junior Iffy Saeed, a semifinalist at the NESCAC Championships last spring. Saeed advanced to the championship match this time around, before falling to top seed Jasmine Bradley of Williams. Senior co-captain Erika Lee (number two), Nordstrom (three), freshman Heidi Kashani (four), and Neda Pisheva (six) each advanced to the semifinal matches in their respective brackets.
The Jumbos now look to continue their success in the spring when they will have a chance to enact revenge on Amherst and Williams, who finished first and second, respectively, at New Englands. After the five-month layover, the Jumbos' ultimate goal is to improve on last spring's disappointing sixth place finish at the NESCAC Championships. Much pressure will also fall on the team's two captains, senior Heather Rich and Lee, to lead the squad back to NCAA Championships after its first ever appearance last year.
"The captains always have something encouraging to say after the pep talk that the coach gives us. I really look up to them," Lejb said.
Coach Jim Watson, who is in his 21st season at Tufts, has consistently produced tough competitors each year. At last year's NESCAC championships, Watson was named NESCAC women's coach of the year for the 2000-01 season after leading Tufts to a third place finish in the East and 11th place finish in the nation.
"The coach says to be prepared and that it is going to be tough," Lejb said. "Do well, stay in it and win or lose, play your game. He tells us to keep positive attitudes - things to get us pumped and focused."
When the spring schedule begins in April, it will mark only the second time in history that the team has played a spring schedule.
"I am really excited for the spring schedule because we will be playing the teams we met at the tournament, and I think we have a real chance of beating them," Lejb said. "I know we are going to have a really good season and come back strong in the spring."
