Despite suffering its first loss of the fall season, the women'stennis team still has its gaze solely fixed upon its ultimate goalfor the spring: a national title run.
Tufts' 6-3 home loss to Middlebury on Sunday certainly signifieswork that needs to be done as fall matches wind down and wintertraining begins, but the team knows that its goal is realistic.Middlebury, always a difficult match on the NESCAC schedule,similarly topped Williams 5-4 last fall, although it was the Ephsthat advanced to the spring's national semifinals.
Coach Doug Eng is well aware that while Sunday's tilt with thePanthers (3-0, 1-0 NESCAC) was a test for the Jumbos (5-1, 3-1NESCAC), the final exam lies ahead in the spring.
"The winner of [Sunday's] match might be ranked fifth or sixthnationally at the end of the fall, but the loser might still makeit to NCAA semifinals in May," Eng said. "We knew this match couldgo either way, so what happens, happens. We expect to peak in Mayand we plan on going to Kalamazoo [for the NationalChampionship]."
Sunday's doubles action indicated from the start that it wouldbe a hard-fought day, as all three matches were tightly contested.The Jumbos only managed to come out on top in the third position,as senior tri-captain Trina Spear and classmate Ashley Weismandowned Middlebury sophomore Emily Holick and freshman JulieWeinberger 9-8 (4).
Sophomores Jen Luten and Kylyn Deary fell short in firstdoubles, as Panther sophomores Claire Smyser and Jackie Ross tookthe 8-5 advantage. Senior tri-captains Jen Lejb and Neda Pishevawere clipped by sophomore Amy Roche and freshman Amanda Berck, 8-6,at second doubles.
With Middlebury gaining an early edge, Tufts had its work cutout for it in the singles action, where only Luten and Lejb managedto come out on top. Luten dropped Smyser 6-1, 6-2, while Lejb wastriumphant over Roche by a score of 7-6 (3), 6-4.
While the team's four singles defeats came in straight sets, ittook over two and a half hours for the final singles matches toreach completion. At fifth singles, freshman Lani Ackerman fell toMiddlebury senior captain Lauren Ready 6-3, 6-3, in marathonfashion. The other very long match belonged to Tufts sophomoreStephanie Ruley, who fell to Panther freshman Amy Berkman 6-4,6-4.
Rounding out the singles action, Deary fell to Berck 6-2, 6-1 inthe third position, and at fourth singles, Spear was edged 6-4, 6-3by Ross. Despite the result, Eng was pleased with the effort putforth by his squad.
"After being down 2-1 after doubles, we knew we had to put itall on the line," the coach said. "That's what we did. The matcheswe lost were all hard fought."
The weekend started off on a bright note for the Jumbos, as theytraveled north to Maine and squeaked by Bowdoin by a score of 5-4on Saturday. The win was headlined by Pisheva and Lejb chargingback for a 9-7 doubles win over Polar Bears Kara Perriello andKelsey Hughes, after initially falling behind 7-4.
"[Pisheva and Lejb's win] put us up 2-1 in doubles, which wasbig," Eng said. "Eventually that was the difference."
The team's other doubles win came from Luten and Deary, whodispatched Bowdoin juniors Julia Shaver and Kristina Sisk by ascore of 8-1. Spear and Weisman came up just short against LaurenGray and Christine D'Elia, falling 8-6.
The day came down to the final singles battle, where Ruleyground through a three-set battle to pick up the clinching win forTufts. After dropping her first set, Ruley rallied back againstGray to take the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
"[The Bowdoin match] was our first test of the year," Eng said."And we came through with several heroes."
The other singles heroes were Luten and Lejb who picked upstraight set wins at the top of the lineup. Luten defeatedPerriello 6-3, 6-3, while Lejb beat Hughes 7-6, 6-2.
Rounding out Saturday's singles action, Deary, Spear, andAckerman came up a bit short in their individual matches, withSpear working through three sets in a tough battle.
This week marks Tufts' final two dual matches of the fallseason, with a home showdown with non-conference Wellesley on theimmediate radar tomorrow at 3 p.m. Coming out of its toughestweekend of the fall, the team will be happy to see somenon-conference competition, but do not expect Wellesley to rollover for the Jumbos.
"Wellesley is a tough team this year, probably [similar] toBowdoin," Eng said. "That match should be lots of fun."
