Middlebury, Vt was the scene of the fourth straight victory for the women's tennis team on Saturday, when Tufts dominated all three doubles and six singles matches against the Panthers in NESCAC action.
In its second consecutive shutout, the Jumbos posted a score of 9-0 over the Panthers, after disposing of the Bates Bobcats by the same score. Freshman Jennifer Lejb, in the number one singles position, won 7-5, 6-2, and has yet to lose a set this season. Senior co-captain Erika Lee won her match in the number two spot, 6-4, 7-6, followed by junior Katie Nordstrom at number three with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 win.
Another promising freshman, number four singles Heidi Kashani, came close to sweeping her opponent Laura Libby with a 6-0, 6-3 finish. The Jumbos continued this season's doubles unbeaten streak with wins from Lejb and Nordstrom, 9-7, Lee and Saeed, 8-2, and Kashani and senior co-captain Heather Rich, 8-6.
The match puts Middlebury at 2-2 on the year, one game off its pace from last season.
Defeating Middlebury isn't new to the Jumbos, who beat the Panthers last season, 7-2, winning one doubles match and sweeping the singles. One difference from last season was the top two doubles pairings. Last year, Nordstrom and Lee were 9-3 and ranked ninth in the East, but ultimately lostin the New England Quarterfinals. Both are playing with new partners, Lejb and Saeed, respectively, and have been successful. The duos have won all seven of their matches. "Even though they were really successful we still had a problem with chemistry," coach Jim Watson said. "I think I made the right move because now we have two strong teams instead of one and the doubles are really gelling." This time last season Tufts was 3-1, with the only blemish coming from a 3-6 loss to Williams. This year the team won't face its top rivals - Williams and Amherst - until the New England Championships, Oct 19-21. This year also marks the second time in team history that the season will include a spring schedule. "It is just too bad we couldn't do it before because the team likes to have the year-long objective of getting back to Nationals and I think that is a good goal," Watson said. Hoping to rip through their fall schedule before the spring, the Jumbos' next NESCAC contenders are the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Saturday Oct. 6. It is Tufts' first home meet of the year, and the Jumbos will be on the lookout for sophomore Polar Bear Alexis Bawden. "She is a hard-hitter on both sides," Watson said. "Erika Lee beat her twice last year and that second match was real tough. Lee met her again in the New England's and beat her in straight sets."
This year, however, Bawden has stepped it up and made it to the semifinals of the Women's ITA championships, before falling to top-seeded Selma Kikic 6-4, 6-3. Bowdoin is also undefeated, with wins against Middlebury and Wesleyan. It is fair to say that the Jumbos will be facing a worthy NESCAC adversary in the Polar Bears, but with home court advantage, the team hopes to keep its streak alive.
