Riding a five-match winning streak and holding the No. 20 ranking in the country, the women's tennis team is gearing up for its two toughest matches of the season.
The Jumbos will take on the No. 7 Bowdoin Polar Bears today before hosting the No. 4 Amherst Lord Jeffs on Tuesday.
This will be one of the biggest tests for a team that has posted an impressive 9-2 record this spring and has been on a tear recently, shutting out three out of its last four opponents.
The Polar Bears boast an impressive record of their own, posting eight wins against zero losses so far this spring, with four of those eight wins being shut outs.
Bowdoin is coming off a season in which it made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 after beating the Jumbos in both the NESCAC tournament and the first round of the NCAA Regionals.
That should give this year's Tufts squad more than enough incentive to beat a Bowdoin team it has always played down to the wire.
Last season the two teams met a total of three times with the Jumbos losing by scores of 6-3 in fall 2005, 6-3 in the NESCAC Tournament and 5-4 in the first round of NCAAs during the spring of 2006.
With doubles and singles that have recently caught fire, the Jumbos look to upset the Polar Bears today and take that momentum into another huge match on Tuesday.
"I don't think we need to do anything extraordinary," senior tri-captain Kylyn Deary said. "We need to go out and play the kind of tennis we have been playing: smart, consistent tennis. Any team in Div. III is beatable at any given time."
"Bowdoin is an extremely consistent team," coach Kate Bayard said. "They are not going to give us anything. We just have to be equally patient and consistent and capitalize on opportunities."
The Jumbos may have one additional factor to contend with today, as mother nature dumped a bucket load of snow on Brunswick, Maine yesterday, which may force the squad to play indoors. But this should be no problem for a team used to switching back and forth between outdoor and indoor play.
"Our team adjusts well to the elements and surface change," Deary said. "The courts at Bowdoin are slow, like our outdoor courts, so there will be no real change."
"I hear that the Bowdoin indoor courts are fairly slow," Bayard said. "We are going to have to be super patient in singles, and everyone has to be willing to stay out. We need to know that every ball is gettable indoors."
Regardless of the weather, the women will hope to put their well-practiced doubles game to the test and jump out to an early lead on the Polar Bears.
"We need to play to win and not do anything too special but be aggressive and do what we need to do," senior tri-captain Jen Luten said. "Getting a lead after doubles, hopefully a 3-0 lead, is also key. Doubles sets the tone for the rest of the match; it's so important."
"Doubles will be key for a couple reasons," Bayard said. "First of all, doubles is first, and it sets the tone for the match. We worked our doubles in practice this week and practiced defending against the lob. They play one up and one back, and we practiced playing against that."
The solid doubles play has proven a nice addition to an already successful singles team, as the women have posted a 17-4 doubles record this spring.
Luten and Deary will represent the Jumbos in the No. 1 doubles slot, with freshman Meghan McCooey and junior Andrea Cenko pairing up in the No. 2 spot, and the duo of sophomore Mari Homma and freshman Erica Miller taking No. 3.
"I think our singles is our biggest strength so far going into the match," Luten said. "However, I would not be surprised right now if our doubles outshined our singles. We have been putting a lot of emphasis in practice on our doubles, and I think we are prepared."
Singles play will remain the same as it has been through much of the spring. Luten will lead the Jumbos at the top spot on the singles ladder, with McCooey and Cenko behind her in the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively.
The Jumbos have benefited from strong play from the bottom half of their singles lineup lately, as No. 4 senior Silvia Schmid, No. 5 Deary and No. 6 Homma have dominated the lower half of opponents' singles lineups.
"Bowdoin is an extremely feisty team in singles and doubles," Bayard said. "They don't give away anything. In order to win these matches, that is the kind of mentality we need to have."
