It was a happy homecoming for the women's tennis team Saturday and Sunday, as it demolished its NESCAC opponents this weekend, sweeping both Colby and Bates by decisive 9-0 scores on its first homestand of the season.
In Sunday's showdown, Tufts handled Bates in its more dominant performance of the weekend, surrendering no more than two games in a doubles match, while winning all six singles matches in two sets. Similarly, Saturday's match featured three doubles wins, in which no Jumbo pair gave up more than four points to their Mule competitors, and all six Jumbos won their singles matches in two sets.
Although the squad had not yet encountered the roughest part of its schedule, it's hoping the weekend's convincing play will give it the necessary edge as it heads into the heart of the season.
"These first matches are really important," senior tri-captain Kylyn Deary said. "The wins against Bates and Colby give us great momentum going into our tough matches this weekend."
"These wins were very important wins," senior tri-captain Jen Luten said. "They set the tone for the rest of our season. It also shows that we didn't take these teams lightly, which we could have, since we have beaten both these teams before. I think it shows that we have confidence, but we are going to take every team with the same intensity as the next."
The Jumbos certainly took the Bobcats seriously, displaying relentless intensity from the get-go. In the No. 1 doubles spot, Luten and Deary completely decimated their Bates opponents, not surrendering a single point and winning 8-0.
"Against Bates, Jen and Kylyn definitely stood out," coach Kate Bayard said. "They played some of the best doubles I have ever seen them play."
The seniors led the way for the other two doubles pairs, as freshman Meghan McCooey and junior Andrea Cenko won 8-2 in the No. 2 spot, and sophomore Mari Homma and freshman Erica Miller earned the third win for the Jumbos in the No. 3 spot by a final score of 8-1.
"Every time we go out there, the doubles gets better," Bayard said. "In both matches, we played well, but we are going to need to play more aggressive and better doubles in the future. We are not going to be able to get away with anything less. The team should feel very confident in their doubles."
In addition to its strong doubles play, the Jumbos dominated the Bobcats in singles, with Deary and senior Silvia Schmid handling their Bobcat opponents with relative ease. Schmid was in complete control of Bobcat junior Mallika Raghavan in the No. 4 spot, refusing to surrender a single point in her 6-0, 6-0 win.
"Silvia is moving her feet better than I have ever see her do before," Bayard said.
Similarly, in the No. 5 spot Deary emerged victorious against Bates' sophomore Julie Brown by scores of 6-1 and 6-0.
"Kylyn had a great day in singles and doubles play on Sunday," Bayard said. "She played flawless."
While the Bates match was Tufts' better effort, the Jumbos' win over Colby was almost as impressive. In doubles play, all three Jumbo pairs won again, with Luten and Deary winning 8-4, McCooey and Cenko turning in an 8-1 win, and Homma and Miller finishing it up with an 8-0 drubbing.
"I feel very confident in our doubles teams this spring," Deary said. "Andrea has been a great addition to the team after coming back from abroad. I know our doubles can get stronger and become a major weapon, but right now, I think we are in a good place."
"I think doubles is going to be the most important component in the spring for our matches," Luten said. "Our singles have always been strong and are strong throughout the NESCAC. However, not every team is as strong in doubles."
The Jumbos stymied the Mules in singles play as well, with the bottom of the lineup - Schmid, Deary and Homma - each winning in two sets, 6-1, 6-1. Luten, McCooey and Cenko added wins in the top three spots to ice the Jumbos' shutout victory.
With the first two NESCAC wins under their belts, the Jumbos will prepare for Friday's showdown with Bowdoin, ranked No. 7 in the country.
Between now and then, Tufts will fine-tune its game this week, hoping its five-match winning streak will give it the edge come Friday.
"The team is at a place where we need to approach each match in the same way," Bayard said. "I don't want the girls to get worked up about one match. We can beat every team we play, but we need to go back to what we need to do to win and not get psyched out. We have to be confident and go about it in an appropriate way."
