Playing in warm weather for the first time this season, the women's tennis team split its four Florida matches to commence spring play, moving to an overall record of 4-3.
In a string of matches that brought them to four different cities, the Jumbos kicked things off with a pair of losses to opponents from Div. I and Div. II, picking up just two matches between the two contests. The road trip then took a turn for the better when the women blew out their Div. III opposition, first crushing Carthage 9-0 and then taking a 7-2 NESCAC win against Hamilton.
The national No. 12 Jumbos were playing outdoors for the first time since the fall season, and coach Kate Bayard was pleased with the results in spite of the shaky transition period.
"It was a nice way to start the NESCAC matches," Bayard said. "Overall we played pretty solidly. Each match we got better, and we adjusted to the outdoors."
"It was really nice, but definitely different," sophomore Meghan McCooey added. "We're used to playing in [the Gantcher Center], which is a completely different game. Personally, I like playing outdoors."
After a period of adjustment to the outdoors, Tufts won five of six singles and two of three doubles matches against Hamilton Friday in Boca Raton. McCooey dominated 6-1, 6-0 at first singles, while fellow sophomore Erica Miller won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2. Both enjoyed similar success at No. 2 doubles as they paired up to tally an 8-1 victory over their Continental opponents.
"They played smart doubles," Bayard said. "They closed in at net when they needed to but were patient and made strong returns at the same time."
"In training we always mix up doubles partners, so we're not dependent," McCooey added. "That way we just get better in our own game, so we're ready in case we have to play with a different partner."
Senior co-captain Andrea Cenko managed to eke out a third set super-tiebreaker 10-4 in her No. 3 singles match. Against Carthage two days earlier in Orlando, Cenko preserved the team's clean-sweep victory with another super-tiebreaker win, 10-8.
"I think it was mental toughness," Cenko said. "I lost the first two matches [during spring break], and I just had that desire to win; you lose two in a row and you get sick of it."
The contest against the Carthage Lady Reds was the Jumbos' third in three days, but the team showed no signs of fatigue and managed to end its two-game slide.
"I felt like the whole team pulled together that match," Bayard said. "We were certainly the stronger team. To beat them 9-0 was an accomplishment; everyone pulled through."
The Jumbos began the break with their work cut out for them in the form of challenging upper-division squads. The Div. I Rhode Island Rams downed Tufts 7-0 March 18 in Daytona Beach, while the Div. II Nova Southeastern Sharks, ranked ninth nationally in that division, overwhelmed the Jumbos 8-1 the day before.
"I thought that it worked out well to have those tough two matches at the beginning of the trip," Bayard said. "It got us ready for Div. III opponents."
McCooey's and Miller's 8-6 doubles victory at No. 2 against the Rams was not counted in the loss, since Div. I scoring gives a single point to the majority winner of the doubles matches.
Against Nova Southeastern, freshman Edwina Stewart captured Tufts' sole point in the sixth singles slot, drawing praise from both Bayard and McCooey for persevering through the inclement weather.
"[Stewart] was extremely focused in the wind," Bayard said. "It's great we had that amount of wind so we threw ourselves right into it. I thought the team adjusted really well considering that was our first match outdoors."
"Stewart played well in some tough, close matches," McCooey added. "We're used to playing in Gantcher, so we adjusted to the wind and other factors better by the end of week."
With a month left in the season, the Jumbos will pick up play exclusively in the Northeast. Six of the team's remaining eight matches will count toward the conference standings.
"We have a few matches next weekend up in Maine, and those probably won't be outdoors, but we all adjusted really quickly," Cenko said. "We're all looking forward to getting outdoors again. We kind of got spoiled with nice weather down in Florida."
Next on Tufts' agenda is a pair of weekend road matches against NESCAC foes, first against the Colby Mules Saturday followed by a Sunday morning date with the Bates Bobcats.
"They're both pretty solid," Bayard said. "They're stronger than Carthage and Hamilton. Both of those matches are big for us."
