Tennis

Women's Tennis | Tufts starts spring season with tough week in California

Finishing its spring break trip to California against No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the No. 18 women's tennis team failed to end its first week of the spring season on a high note. Tufts started the team match slowly, losing three doubles matches by large deficits, 8-1, 8-1 and 8-0. The singles matches were also disappointing for the Jumbos, with five of the six resulting in set victories for the Athenas. The one high point for Tufts was freshman Jacqueline Baum, who earned the only win for her side with a hard-fought, comeback victory over her sophomore counterpart Yvonne Likomanova in No. 6 singles, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7. With the other simultaneously started matches ending in straight sets, Baum had her teammates watching and cheering on for the decisive third set tiebreak. Having the whole team behind me in the third set gave me a lot of confidence," Baum said. "I made a lot of changes after the first set, and tried to make [Likomanova] work more. It was a really good way to finish spring break." The loss was the team's second in a row, as the previous day the Jumbos had headed to Claremont to face the Cougars of Azusa Pacific, eventually falling 7-2. After digging a hole by losing the opening doubles matches 8-5, 8-5 and 8-4, Tufts mustered two wins in singles: sophomore Catherine Worley in the No. 6 position 6-2, 6-3, and freshman Conner Calabro in the No. 3 position 6-1, 4-6, 10-7. But spring break was not wholly disappointing for the team, as Tufts put forth its best performance of the week against Denison, 7-2. The highlight matches came in No. 1 and No. 2 singles, with two thrilling three set matches. Senior captain Samantha Gann lost her first set and won the second against Denison senior Kelsey Geppner. In the final set, Gann completed her comeback, winning the set 6-4 and the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Freshman Alexa Meltzer had a similarly back and forth affair at No. 2 singles against sophomore Taylor Hawkins. Meltzer won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6, lost the second 5-7 and came back to win the third set tiebreak 10-7. Calabro also starred for the Jumbos, winning her No. 3 singles match in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, and winning her doubles match against freshman Chelsea Hayashi 8-2. The other victories for Tufts came in No. 3 doubles for Baum and Gann 8-2, No. 5 singles for senior Rebecca Kimmel 6-3, 7-6 and No. 6 singles for Worley 6-0, 6-1. "We had a great match against Denison, especially starting off 2-1 in doubles," Baum said. "Doubles is one place we've been focusing on, and it was big to get those first vital wins." In Tufts' first spring break competition, on March 18 against No. 15 La Verne, the Jumbos lost 6-3. Despite falling to its foes from La Verne, Tufts had several quality individual performances. Had a couple points gone Tufts' way, the matchup may have ended differently. Kimmel won her match at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-2, easily dispatching of La Verne freshman Lauren Torres. Calabro also cruised to a straight set victory, taking down senior Allison Moncrief 6-1, 6-0 in No. 4 singles. "La Verne was a really tough team

Womens Tennis | Young team to take on West Coast competition next week

After an offseason full of hard work, team building and rehabilitation, the women's tennis team, ranked No. 18 in Div. III, is ready to kick off the spring season in California next week.

Women's Tennis | Jumbos suffer 8-1 defeat at MIT

Freshman Conner Calabro captured the Tufts women's tennis team's only victory against MIT this Tuesday, with the Jumbos falling 8-1 to the Engineers. It was the team's first loss of the season, as the only other event of the season that was scored in team format was Tufts' 7-2 win over Babson on Sept. 18. The Jumbos were beaten out in every matchup except the No. 3 singles, in which Calabro easily defeated Krystal Lai of MIT 6-1, 6-1.

Women's Tennis | Tufts gets back on track with doubleheader victories

Following two tough losses last week against Williams and Amherst, the No. 18 women's tennis team got back to its winning ways at home this past Saturday in a pair of NESCAC matches against No. 15 Trinity and unranked Bates.

Women's Tennis | Amherst hands Tufts second straight loss

The women's tennis team faced off against No. 4 Amherst, suffering its second straight 9-0 loss on Tuesday. Amherst is currently second in the conference with an overall record of 11-3, and is the only other team besides defending national champions Williams that is undefeated in the NESCAC.

Women's Tennis | Tufts splits games against Bowdoin, Wellesley

     The No. 18 women's tennis team recovered from a 7-2 weekend loss to No. 7-conference-foe Bowdoin, topping local-rival Wellesley, 6-3, on Tuesday afternoon. The Jumbos move to 0-1 in the conference and 4-5 overall (2-4 in spring play).     The singles matches were split between Tufts and its opponents, with Tufts winning two of six against Bowdoin and splitting the singles wins evenly with Wellesley.     While Tufts dropped all three doubles matches to start against Bowdoin over the weekend, the opposite was true against Wellesley, with Tufts sealing all three doubles victories.     Sticking with the same doubles lineup as she had against Bowdoin, head coach Kate Bayard played freshman Alexa Meltzer and senior captain Samantha Gann at the No. 2 doubles spot, and the freshmen duo of Conner Calabro and Chelsea Hayashi at the No. 3 doubles against Wellesley. With both pairings notching easy wins, 8-4 and 8-3, respectively, the Jumbos appeared to have found their groove in the doubles game.     "[Against Wellesley] we did a good job taking opportunities, being gutsy and just playing aggressive, solid doubles," Gann said. "That feeling of going up after doubles, whether it be by 2-1 or 3-0, really sets the tone for the rest of the matches."     At the No. 1 doubles spot, senior Shelci Bowman and freshman Jacqueline Baum played in the closest-fought doubles matchup of the day, eventually edging past their opponents, junior Sojung Lee and freshman Carina Chen in a tiebreak, 9-8 (8-6).     Despite these significant strides, Bayard emphasized that the team needs to keep working to improve its doubles game.     "We are certainly becoming more aggressive at net and putting more pressure on the other teams, but we still need to work on [our doubles play]," Bayard told the Daily in an email. "We need to be able to capitalize more effectively when we have offensive opportunities - to work on being able to execute our put-away shots better and play the pressure points with more confidence."     At the same time, Tufts' successes in the singles game should not be overlooked.     Despite going 3-3 in singles against Wellesley, all three losses saw Tufts push its opponents to the limit. Gann, who led the team in the No.1 singles match, suffered a close loss to Lee, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5. Meltzer and Baum both took their matches to a third set tiebreaker, with Meltzer at No. 2 eventually bowing out 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 to Chen, while Baum at No. 5 found herself on the wrong side of a 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 loss to freshman Dasha Kostikina.     Meanwhile, freshman Conner Calabro breezed past her opponent, freshman Lina Ye, 6-2, 6-3. Bowman and senior Rebecca Kimmel also dispatched their opponents easily in the No. 4 and No. 6 singles positions, winning 6-1, 6-1, and 6-0, 6-1, respectively.     "Especially in this match [against Wellesley], I feel that everyone was really focused and didn't want [to] give up any points," Gann said. "We'll definitely be taking that intensity to the rest of the matches going forward."     Against Bowdoin, Tufts started out strong, but the inexperience of some of the younger players on the team showed, especially when the matches came down to the wire.     "We started out really strong in the doubles, but Bowdoin upped [its] level [of play] throughout the course of the pro-sets," Bayard said in an email to the Daily. "Ultimately, Bowdoin was gutsier when it counted, and we made a few too many unforced errors when we had opportunities."     That being said, four of the six doubles players are freshmen who, given the focus on individual results in juniors competition, have limited experience in doubles. Yet glimpses of the Jumbos' offseason efforts were on display against the Polar Bears, with the No. 1 doubles pairing of Bowman and Baum putting up a commendable fight against the pairing of freshman Joulia Likhanskaia and senior Emma Lewis. Bowman and Baum pushed Likhanskaia and Lewis, who have won six of their 10 doubles matches together, to 8-6.     "Shelci and Jacqueline played some of the best doubles I've seen all year, but the other team stepped it up a bit more at the very end," Bayard said.     Meanwhile, Bowman dropped just six games in four sets at No. 4 singles, sweeping aside Bowdoin freshman Samantha Stalder, 6-2, 6-2. Calabro was the only other Jumbo to win in singles play, beating Likhanskaia, 6-0, 7-5.     With the loss to Bowdoin, Tufts moves to 0-1 in the NESCAC, and will rely on its lone captain, Gann, as the team begins to navigate conference play.     "Sam's ability to truly be focused and have the same intensity for every single point in matches and practices is always inspirational for others," Bayard said.     With a tough three weeks of play remaining in the regular season, Bayard is confident that the team will only get better with each game.     "We had very tough competition, [but] I believe that all of those matches against great teams will only help us moving forward," Bayard said. "I was proud of how the team fought, [and] I know we'll get more mentally tough as the season progresses."  

Women's Tennis | Tufts eases past Brandeis in last dual meet of fall

The women's tennis team took down Brandeis 8-1 Friday, closing out its dual fall season 2-1. With the loss, Brandeis moves to 0-1 in its only dual match of the fall season. 

Women's Tennis | Jumbos roll past Wellesley with revised lineup

Women's Tennis | Royal pain: Lord Jeffs hand Jumbos third straight NESCAC loss

Women's tennis shuts out Bates to earn weekend split

The No. 13 women's tennis team split a pair of matches against nationally ranked opponents this past weekend, losing 7?2 to No. 2 Emory on Sunday and winning 9?0 against No. 30 Bates on Monday. The Jumbos are now 7?5 overall and a perfect 3?0 in the NESCAC.

Women's Tennis | Notebook: Small roster means big responsibilities

 Despite their lack of bodies, the women's tennis team is entering the season with high expectations and the No. 5 ranking in Division III. The team has seen its roster size decrease sharply, from 13 players last year to nine to start the year, and now to eight to start the season after junior Lauren Hollender was injured.  But what matters is who will be on the court, not who won't. On Sunday, the team of eight will kick off its campaign against Washington College in Maryland. Here, we take a look at four players who could have a big impact on the team's success.

Women's Tennis | Tufts finishes season with mild success

The No. 5 Tufts women's tennis team concluded its fall season this weekend at the three−day New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament, which featured players from 17 schools throughout the Northeast.

Women's Tennis | Katz, Bowman beat Bowdoin, Bates and reach ITA doubles quarterfinal

Junior captain Lindsay Katz and sophomore Shelci Bowman led the women's tennis team to reaching the doubles quarterfinals this past weekend at the ITA New England Championships hosted by Bates. Unlike most of Tufts' matches, the focus at ITAs is on individual success, not team success.

Women's Tennis | Jumbos ready to prove their mettle in spring season

Led by the recently awarded United States Tennis Association (USTA) New England Coach of the Year and three talented first−years joining the roster, the women's tennis team is more than excited to begin its spring season.

Women's Tennis | Team helps local family transition out of homelessness

Thanks to the women's tennis team, a local family has a new outlook on life.

Women's Tennis | Team helps local family transition out of homelessness

Thanks to the women's tennis team, a local family has a new outlook on life.

Women's Tennis | Bayard named USTA New England Coach of the Year

It seems only fitting that the coach of the nation's top women's tennis doubles team should win some awards of her own.

Women's Tennis | Violets are blue after Jumbos sweep in singles

The women's tennis team completed a sweep of its two fall dual matches on Saturday when it routed non-conference foe NYU 8-1 on Vouté Courts.

Women's Tennis | Browne, McCooey reach semis at Middlebury

Women's Tennis | Freshmen sweep bottom of singles lineup as Tufts beats MIT

The women's tennis team won the first of its two dual matches of the fall season, trouncing previously-unbeaten MIT, 7-2 yesterday evening at Vouté Courts.