In the three-day New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament this past weekend, the women's tennis team finished the regular season with a doubles title and two singles players advancing to their respective finals matches.
The biggest story of the weekend was the play of sophomore Meghan McCooey and freshman Hayley Young, who won the regional title in No. 2 doubles by defeating five other teams in a bracket of 32.
"We tried to communicate after every point to help each other out and stay focused," McCooey said. "We kept reminding each other to stay on top of our game."
McCooey and Young, who were unseeded and did not get a bye to begin the tournament, started out by ousting out a pair of fellow unseeded teams. They first eliminated an Amherst duo, 8-4, before cruising past a pair of Brandeis Judges, 8-1. The Jumbos then earned 8-3 victories over both the No. 4 seeded team from Middlebury and the No. 2 seed from MIT to earn a spot in the finals.
The final match pit McCooey and Young against the No. 1 seed from Williams, comprised of seniors Allison Rottkamp and Anne Schneidman. When Tufts faced Williams on Sept. 29, both Rottkamp and Schneidman took victories over their Jumbo counterparts as Tufts fell to the Ephs, 8-1. This time, however, revenge was sweet for McCooey and Young as they won the match and the regional title, 8-2.
Although they didn't show it at the tournament, McCooey and Young haven't had much experience playing with one another.
"We played one match together during the regular season," McCooey said. "We've been practicing together a lot since that match."
McCooey also played well on the singles side of play. Both she and freshman Julia Browne advanced to the finals matches of their respective singles brackets - McCooey at No. 2 and Browne at No. 3 - but neither could get that last victory.
McCooey advanced to the finals only to fall to Williams sophomore Grace Baljon. McCooey, who defeated her first two opponents in straight sets while only dropping two games, beat No. 4-seeded Amherst freshman Laken King before losing to Baljon. For McCooey, playing in both doubles and singles was an exhausting experience.
"There definitely was a fatigue factor," McCooey said. "In my third match on both Saturday and Sunday, I felt tired and I just had to find that energy, which was easier with all the training we've done. But it wasn't just me - everyone was in the same boat."
Overall, the sophomore was satisfied with her performance.
"I felt like I played well throughout the whole tournament," she said. "But my [final singles] opponent was really strong and she played really well. For the tournament overall, I was really happy."
In singles play, senior Grace Cascarilla was put into the first singles bracket. Unranked, she beat both Wellesley junior Jen Schwarzkopf and Babson junior Courtney Farrell before going up against top-ranked junior Cary Gibson of Williams. Gibson, who was 10-0 in singles play this year including a win over McCooey, was upset by Cascarilla, 7-6(3), 6-1. After the incredible upset, however, Cascarilla fell in the semifinals to MIT sophomore Leslie Hansen.
Browne went into her singles tournament ranked at No. 3 and received a first-round bye. After downing Conn. College sophomore Jessica Bender and Wellesley freshman Jacqueline Shen, Browne beat the bracket's No. 2 seed, Amherst sophomore Brittany Berckes. Like Cascarilla, Browne would fall to a No.1 seed, Williams freshman Lucy Marchese, in the finals.
"In her second match, her opponent was really consistent," freshman Edwina Stewart said of Browne. "She was playing really smart and moving forward and coming to the net so she didn't get stuck in lots of volleys."
In the other singles matches, sophomore Erica Miller fell to eventual champion Monica Snyder of Amherst in the semifinals, while fellow sophomore Mari Homma, ranked No. 3 in her bracket, was upset in the second round of play by Bowdoin sophomore Liz Pedowitz. In the final singles tournament, sophomore Laura Hoguet lost to Mount Holyoke senior Janine Gresko in the second round.
In the two other doubles tournaments, the Jumbos advanced far before eventually falling. Browne and freshman Miranda Young earned their way to the semifinals before losing to Gibson and Baljon of Williams. Miller and Homma, ranked No. 4 in their bracket, were eliminated in the semifinals.
With the fall season in the books, the Jumbos now spend their offseason getting in shape and practicing in preparation for the spring.
"We're really excited," Stewart said of the spring season. "We know we are going to be even better after the winter."
