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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Women’s tennis sweeps Conneticut College and Endicott College on Senior Day

Tufts dominates in front of the home crowd.

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Tufts women's tennis senior Sophie Wax is pictured on April 11.

Tufts women’s tennis was greeted at home by beautiful weather and a resounding victory. The team barely broke a sweat as they cruised to two 7–0 wins against Connecticut College and Endicott College in one day.

Additionally, for senior Sophie Wax, Saturday was more than a routine match day. Her teammates felt emotional as she played the last home matches of her Tufts career. First-year Athena Li considered the void that Wax’s absence will leave in her departure.

“She just brings so much to our team,” she remarked. “It was really sad to think about that that was her last home match.” Li also discussed Wax’s role as a leader for the underclassmen and her ability to boost the morale of her teammates.

The Jumbos first faced off against the Camels, a team that has not beaten Tufts since 2011. This trend did not shift this past weekend. Juniors Nikki Kintiroglou and Ellie Gershaw started the day off strong in doubles, finding themselves a nearly effortless 6–2 victory against the No. 3 doubles team at Conn. College. Their win would set the tone for the rest of the day’s performances.

Wax and sophomore Natalie Hu teamed up to rout the No. 1 Conn. College doubles team in a back-and-forth set. The Tufts pair ended on top with a 6–4 victory, with key games broken being the deciding factor. Their match clinched the competition’s doubles point in Tufts’ favor. Li and first-year Brooklyn Bindas finished off the doubles matches against Conn. College’s No. 2 squad. The duo put up a strong effort against a solid team but were bested in a close 6–4 set.

Junior Lucy Mitchell took care of business quickly in the first singles match of the day, dropping just one game out of the thirteen she played. She was soon followed by Li, who lost just one game in each of her sets, and Wax, who showed off her experience as she claimed a win without losing a single game.

Gershaw, Kintiroglou and first-year Melanie Woodbury finished out the singles lineup as No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Gershaw triumphed in a 6–2 and a 6–4 set, where she played a disciplined game. Woodbury and Kintiroglou faced tough opponents, but each performed in the clutch as they dominated their tiebreaker sets to complete a Tufts singles sweep.

After their commanding match against Conn. College, the Tufts women found themselves an even more decisive victory against Endicott, in which they dropped zero matches across singles and doubles play.

In doubles, Wax again suited up with Hu in a triumphant 6–1 victory against Endicott’s No. 1 doubles team. Li noted her excitement to cheer on Wax throughout the day as she won each of her matches in dominant fashion.

Woodbury teamed up with her older sister, Stephanie Woodbury, a junior, and the pair did not lose a single game as they swept their set. Li and Bindas also bounced back from their game against Conn. College as they managed a victory against a strong No. 2 Endicott pairing. When discussing the differences between the matches against Conn. College and Endicott, Li reflected on her deficits in the first match.

“We were just really tight, and we couldn’t really figure out what was working.” She went on to discuss the improvements made from match to match. “It was more of a mental thing. … We played with not much fear [in the second match].” As Li mentioned, there was a stark improvement between the first and second doubles matches for her pair as they completed a doubles sweep against Endicott.

The singles aspect of the match against Endicott was even more of a bloodbath than doubles. In a showing where each player would only lose one singular game across each of their two sets, the team faced little difficulty. Much of the struggle, as Li noted, was staying in the right mindset and being able to push past any sort of pressure or adversity. Further, she praised Melanie Woodbury for her ability to stay calm despite early frustrations.

“The other girl made some questionable calls, but Melanie stayed calm and dealt with it.” As she pondered the “honor system” form of refereeing in college tennis, Li commented, “When someone is making questionable calls and you’re arguing about it, it definitely takes a mental toll on you. But [Melanie] adjusted really well to it.”

Li was additionally asked about what the team needed to focus on for the future and emphasized the importance of energy, where she asserted, “Bringing the energy into our next matches is going to be really important because it gets us pumped up and ready to play.” Energy and motivation, as she stated, will be the key to battling adversity on the court in the future.

Tomorrow, Tufts will travel to face a 7–8 Colby College team in a match where they continue to focus on energy and team motivation.