After losing to every higher−ranked opponent they faced this season, the No. 23 Jumbos had one last chance on Sunday to come away with an upset in their match against No. 22 Vassar. Following an impressive 9−0 sweep against No. 29 Northeastern on Thursday, which clinched their place in the C−Division of the upcoming Howe Cup, the team was full of confidence going into Sunday's bout. But it wasn't enough for the Jumbos, as they fell 6−3 to the Brewers.
Playing on Sunday against Vassar, the Tufts wins came from senior co−captain Valerie Koo at the No. 2 spot, junior co−captain Mercedes Barba at the No. 3 spot and sophomore Alyse Vinoski at the No. 5 spot. After beating senior Kristine Bell in a closely contested, 12−10 first game, Koo took the next two games 11−7 and 11−8 for the Jumbos' first win of the day. Koo also beat Bell two years ago, giving her a psychological boost from the start, she said.
Vinoski and Barba each won four games. After losing her first game against junior Nina Punukollu, Vinoski came back and won the next three straight games for a 3−1 victory.
"Everyone played really competitively, which was good," Koo said. "Alyse was hitting the ball really well by using her power to her advantage. Mercedes has been playing very well recently and has been able to really work against her opponents to win needed matches."
In the middle of the ladder at the No. 6 and No. 7 spots, sophomores Ushashi Basu and Hafsa Chaudry both put up good fights, forcing their matches into five and four games, respectively. Basu battled back and forth with freshman Lisa Evans, winning the first game by a solid 11−5, before losing 13−11 in the second game. Evans hit a between−the−legs shot to win the third set 11−9, but Basu quickly responded with her own 11−9 win. Basu ultimately lost 13−11 in the fifth game, though she was at one point up 10−7.
At the No. 1 spot, junior Alix Michael lost to sophomore Libby Pei in three straight 11−9 games. Michael took the lead in the beginning of each game, but ultimately could not keep up with Pei's hard−hitting shots.
On Thursday, the Jumbos beat Northeastern 9−0, with shutout matches up and down the ladder. Northeastern did not have a full roster, so No. 9 sophomore Caitlin Doherty won automatically. Every Jumbo besides Koo won her match in just three games. Basu and sophomore Jess Rubine each only let up three points in three games.
"Northeastern was missing some players, but it was still a good morale booster for our team," Barba said. "It was really good for some people who hadn't had a win in a while."
Koo, on the other hand, had a tougher time, eventually beating junior Diana Toubman in five close games.
"[Toubman] had unconventional shots that I wasn't used to facing," Koo said. "It was hard to play her because I just didn't know what she was going to hit. … But I had to calm myself and get over that. I just tried to force her to move because she didn't move very well, and I worked on hitting it tighter in order to get it past her. In the end it worked out, even though it was closer than I would've liked."
Tufts now heads into the Feb. 18−20 Howe Cup, hosted by Princeton, with a 7−13 overall record and a 1−4 mark in conference action. The Jumbos recently moved up one spot in the national rankings from No. 24 to No. 23.
The tournament will give the Jumbos a chance to see how they have improved throughout the season.
"The good thing is that we've played most of the teams in our division before," Koo said. "It will be great to get a second or third chance against these teams. We were so close against Colby both times we played them, for example, losing 5−4 twice, so we just need to now combine our wins on the same day."
Having experience against some of the players, Koo said, has given the team a bit of added confidence going into the competition.
"It's useful to have played the same girl before because I think that the more times you play them the better you will do," she said. "I am very hopeful that we will upset some of the teams above us, since we're ranked [at the bottom of the] C−division. The games won't be blow−outs by any means, but it would be great to get some team wins."
The Jumbos are particularly anxious to face the No. 20 Mules, No. 21 Bowdoin or Vassar again, and feel confident that they can finally pull through with a win against these closely ranked teams.
Coach Belkys Velez has been urging the team to keep up its positive energy as they prepare for the weekend's pressure−filled matches.
"Our coach is proud of how our team has been playing," Barba said. "She's gotten a lot more confident in people's games, and she's been really trying to reinforce that to all the girls. We're able to use her optimism to help create smart play on the court."
