The women's tennis team opened their season last Tuesday with a crushing defeat of Smith College. A talent-rich Jumbo team defeated Smith 9-0, winning a combined 96 games to 16. The match has the Jumbos riding high as they prepare to take on Colby and Bates this coming week.
Currently the varsity squad contains ten players, but coach Jim Watson will refine his roster over the next few weeks.
"I think we're a top ten national team," Watson said. "We're solid one through ten."
Watson and Assistant Coach Doug Eng will have a tough time deciding whom to select on their team. Eight players competed in the Smith match, including promising freshmen Lisa Miller (Cherry Hills Village, CO) and Rebecca Bram (Winchester, MA), who won their singles matches convincingly 6-1 6-1 and 6-0 6-0 respectively. The eight also featured returning sophomores Jennifer Lejb, Trina Spear and Neda Pisheva, and three seniors _ Emily Warshauer and captains Katie Nordstrom and Iffy Saeed.
Injuries should not affect the squad this year as they did last year when a hurting team traveled to the East Region finals. The depth of this year's squad means Watson will have no trouble with finding talent. Aside from the varsity members, the JV squad, who throttled Gordon last week, will provide another strong lineup for the varsity team the build upon.
"The top ten players are very strong. There is a lot of depth, " Saeed said.
The team's number one Jennifer Lejb is coming off a shoulder injury from last year, but her 6-0 6-1 singles victory over Smith's Lauren Kemp showed no lingering effects.
Meanwhile, Saeed is approaching Saturday's matchup against Colby and Tuesday's clash with Bates with the aim of refining and working on weaknesses. Since Colby is coming off a 4-3 season in 2001-2002, including a 7-2 setback to the Tufts team, the Jumbos are confident that they will be able to come out of the match as the victors.
"I don't think we should have any trouble with them, " Saeed said.
Nevertheless, Coach Watson cautioned against being overconfident.
"It will be a very competitive match. [Colby] can play. We can't take them lightly," Watson said.
With the experience, knowledge, and ability Saeed and Nordstrom bring to the team as captains (the two are a combined 68-30 in singles and 20-5 in doubles), the team should remain pointed in the right direction. Saeed commented that while most of the women play a baseline game, the two upcoming matches, particularly against the less experienced Bates team, will be used to work on taking advantage of the opposition's short balls. This should improve the team's net approach, adding another dimension to its already powerful game. The Bates team finished last season with just two wins in eleven matches, including a 9-0 loss to Tufts. However they carry several promising young players, and opened this season with a 6-3 come-from-behind victory over Babson.
Freshman Lisa Miller, who played number two in singles against Smith, is excited about the team's future.
"We know that we have to be focused and driven in order to play up to our potential for this season," Miller said. "It is not often that as an incoming freshman you step onto a court with so many talented players who all are working toward one goal."
"We hope to win the nationals this year and I love being able to help contribute to that goal, " fellow freshman, Bram agreed.
The confidence the pair show may be a sign of things to come for the team, which is seeking its second straight NCAA Tournament berth.
The team plays Colby College this Saturday (Sept. 21) at 1 p.m. on the Voute Courts at Tufts. They will clash with Bates on Tuesday Sept. 24 at 4 p.m
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