After a five-month hiatus from college tennis, it took sophomore Meghan McCooey no time at all to return to peak form.
At the 2007 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Regional Championships this past weekend, McCooey was the star for the Jumbos in their first event of the regular season, as she advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. The qualifying tournament, which was hosted by MIT, also saw some talented Tufts freshmen shine in their first non-scrimmage competition.
McCooey had no problem breezing by her first opponent, freshman Becca Heupel of Connecticut College, winning her two games 6-0 and 6-1. She then shut out opponent junior Ania Preneta of Wesleyan 6-0, 6-0.
Things got a little tougher for McCooey against Middlebury senior Claire Smyser, the No. 8 seed in the tournament. McCooey won her first set 6-4 and finally defeated Smyser in the second set with a 6-3 score.
After the three straight-set wins, McCooey was forced to default against MIT sophomore Leslie Hansen, who was ranked as high as No. 24 nationally last season. McCooey was one game away from victory, but had to withdraw due to severe muscle cramps with the match score at 4-6, 6-0, 5-4.
"I stayed focused throughout the entire match, not stepping up to the line until I knew I was ready to play the point as if it would determine the whole match," McCooey wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. "I was patient and consistent but remained aggressive. I would have liked to make use of my net game more and cut down on my number of double faults."
After such a strong performance, McCooey, who had a solid freshman season last year, credits the work she has put in during practice for her strong performance.
"We've had some tough practices in the last couple weeks that I felt really prepared me physically and mentally for the ITAs this weekend," McCooey said. "My successful matches this weekend were due to smart playing and mental toughness. I had to work very hard to earn every point."
McCooey wasn't the only Tufts player to perform well at the tournament. Freshman Julia Browne advanced all the way to the third round before being defeated in a close match.
Like McCooey, she dominated her first two matches, shutting out UMass Boston sophomore Emily Johnson, and breezing by Vassar junior Krista Romita, 6-1, 6-0. Browne then ran into fifth-seeded sophomore Brittany Berckes of Amherst. The freshman played well as the underdog but came up short, losing 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (6).
"The close matches showed that our team is right up there with everyone else," sophomore Erica Miller said.
Browne also contributed over the weekend in her doubles matches, as she teamed with junior Mari Homma. The pair lost to senior Amy Berkman and freshman Whitney Hanson from Middlebury 8-3 on Friday afternoon, placing them into the consolation bracket. After beating juniors Rachel Ghorbani and Alexandra Sirois of Wesleyan 6-3, they lost to Jennifer Murphy and Lauren Stein of Amherst in the quarterfinals. The senior captains defeated the Jumbo duo 8-3.
Browne wasn't the only impressive freshman in the tournament. After falling to senior Amanda Berck and Smyser from Middlebury 8-6, first-year sisters Miranda and Hayley Young advanced to the finals of the consolation bracket. They first beat a pair of Trinity freshmen, Arielle Leben and Jillian Steckloff.
After another victory over Heupel and sophomore Jessica Bender from Connecticut College, they defeated the pair of junior Rachel Waldman and sophomore Brett Davis of Bowdoin in the semis to reach the doubles consolation finals. There they faced the Amherst duo of Murphy and Stein, but fell in a close match, 8-5.
No matter the outcome of the finals, Miranda Young is happy with the team's effort and play.
"I think ITA Regionals went really well for our team," Young wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. "A few of our players won a couple rounds of singles and doubles. Tufts was well represented. My sister and I had a tough first round in doubles, but won the next three."
"I think that everyone's game is really starting to come together, and the spirit was really good during the tournament," Miller said. "Win or lose, everyone played tough and had competitive matches."
For a team with young stars and talented upperclassmen, more big wins and satisfying results should be a regular expectation during regular season play.
