Depite loss in Florida, Jumbo women looking ahead

The women's tennis team returned from its preseason trip to Miami and hopes to parlay its fall success into a win this weekend, as it faces NESCAC rival Wesleyan on Saturday.

While the team's loss in the lone match it played over break against Div I powerhouse Columbia was not pretty, it must be taken into account that it was only an exhibition.

The Jumbos' match against Wesleyan will be their first of the spring season, and, according to players, it could not come soon enough.

"With the amount of time between seasons, it is tough maintaining a level of intensity," senior co-captain Katie Nordstrom said. "But the Florida trip can only help us going into the toughest half of our year long season."

On paper, the Cardinals are not the type of team that appears capable of beating the Jumbos, who come into the match flaunting a perfect 9-0 record from the fall. Wesleyan is near the bottom of the conference with a 3-9 mark that includes matches it already played against Bowdoin and Colby as well as ones it played over its spring break in Florida. But in the NESCAC, anything can happen.

"We have to be able to focus our attention on winning these matches," assistant coach Doug Eng said. "We need all of these matches before the big ones with Williams and Amherst."

While the squad won't face Williams and Amherst for about another month, it is never too early for the Jumbos to have their sights on them. This is especially true considering the team lost to both schools last spring. However, given that the Jumbos beat Williams and lost to Amherst in the fall NESCAC championship, all bets are off going into these matches. The fact of the matter is that Wesleyan is in Tufts' sights, and the girls are excited to get out on the Voute courts for their first competitive action since the fall.

"It's going to be awesome getting out on our home courts this Saturday, no matter who we play," Nordstrom said. "There's nothing like the first match of the season."

While they did lose to Columbia, the Jumbos are not overly concerned. Spring training or preseason in any sport is most often used to get the kinks out, rather than worrying about the results. The team will have all season to work out any more bugs, but in the meantime it is optimistic about what lies ahead.

"I think we'll be fine," Nordstrom said. "We are really deep, and anyone can step into any spot. As long as we can stay healthy, we'll have a great shot at competing in this league, and hopefully the Nationals."

The Jumbo women have a great shot at turning heads this spring, as this is senior co-captains Nordstrom and Iffy Saed's and senior Emily Warshauer's last chance to show what they can do competitively. With that motivation as well as last year's losses to Williams and Amherst on their minds, the Jumbos have plenty to drive them through the spring. On Saturday at 1:00 p.m., they will begin the journey.