Women's Tennis | Weather can't spoil Jumbos' streak

                The red-hot Jumbos improved to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 in NESCAC play with a pair of wins over conference foes Hamilton and Trinity this weekend. Tufts, currently ranked No. 14 in the country, has now won four straight, its only loss coming to Div. I University of Rhode Island in March.
    On Sunday, Tufts hosted the now 1-8 Continentals, and despite confusion caused by a move to indoor courts after warmups, the Jumbos played their game and dominated.
    "We warmed up outside and then ended up going inside," junior captain Meghan McCooey said. "We had to put up the nets, and there were a lot of distractions, but the team was really great at refocusing. We knew they would be scrappy, and we were really focused, which was important to get the win."
    In doubles, Tufts set the tone with the first and third doubles, winning 8-2 and 8-1, respectively. Sophomore Edwina Stewart and senior Mari Homma fought in a close match that fell in favor of the Continentals 8-6, sending Tufts into singles play up 2-1.
    The Jumbos excelled in singles on the familiar surface of Gantcher, winning five of six matches in straight sets. The most dramatic spectacle of the day was the No. 3 singles match, in which Hamilton junior Laura Brantley won the first set in a tiebreak, lost the second and then took the match in a super-tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 11-9.
    Two days prior, the Jumbos played another match on a very different indoor surface against the now 7-4 Trinity Bantams. Thanks to the wise coaching and practicing the week before, Tufts had little trouble adjusting.
    "The courts were really slow, so we tried to practice outdoors as much as possible this week to get ready, and as a team we adjusted really well," McCooey said. "By the singles matches I think everyone was comfortable with the surface."
    Playing tennis in the New England spring, the ability to adjust to all court speeds and characteristics is crucial, and this match served as a learning experience for the Jumbos.
    "The slow courts were good for us because it got us back in the mentality of expecting every single ball back," coach Kate Bayard said. "We were working on pushing Trinity players back and using the short court. The slice really just stopped wherever it landed. It worked to some degree, but Trinity players used that a little more effectively than we did."
    The Jumbos started out strong, taking two of three doubles matches to begin play. McCooey and sophomore Julia Browne won handily by a score of 8-1 and continued their reign of dominance. The duo won the ITA National Small College Championship in October and since then has run over their opponents, going 5-0 thus far this year. Stewart and Homma once again paired up and won 8-3, while Tufts' No. 2 doubles team was defeated 8-5.
    "Playing together in the fall and winning the National Championship gave us a lot of confidence, but we expect more from each other every match," McCooey said. "We are trying to be aggressive, poach more and set each other up. We want to go on offense and take control of points."
    "Their intensity every practice is so high," Bayard said of McCooey and Browne. "I think for the rest of the team to see two players who won a National Championship and to be right there practicing with them every day, it rubs off and sets high standards."
    After heading into singles up 2-1, Tufts went on to get two quick wins from Browne and McCooey at No. 1 and No. 2, and the match appeared to be in the bag. But after going up 4-1, Tufts fell in close matches at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots to suddenly put the Jumbos just two points from their second defeat of the year.
    "We got four [points] really early, but they started coming back in singles and it turned into a really close match," McCooey said. "The last two matches that were pretty intense were [Mari's] and [freshman Jennifer LaCara's]. Jen was really mentally tough, and Mari was so focused and intense out there. Mari got the clincher, and then Jen stayed tough and got the win. It was good for the team's confidence to win a close match like that."
    Tufts took the last two singles matches to bring to a close the five-hour indoor marathon of tennis and remain undefeated in NESCAC play this year.
    "On any given day some members of the team might be more on than others," Bayard said. "That's the sign of a mentally tough team — when some aren't playing their absolute best, others can pick it up. That match tested us, and I felt like we worked through it as a team."
    After the two solid wins this weekend, Tufts will face a top-notch opponent this afternoon as it takes on Amherst at 4 p.m. The Lord Jeffs are ranked No. 6 in the nation and boast a 9-1 record this season, their only loss coming to Williams. For the first time this season, Tufts will go into a match as the slight underdog, but the Jumbos are not planning to play that way.
    "This weekend was definitely a good way to gain some confidence going into these matches," McCooey said. "The wins gave us some confidence, but we recognize that these teams are only going to get stronger and they badly want to beat us, so we will have to work really hard to keep winning."