After a disappointing 6-3 loss to Amherst last Tuesday, the women's tennis team bounced back this weekend and tied for second place in the eleven team NESCAC tournament. Host college Williams won the tournament with 31 points, while both the Jumbos and the Amherst Lord Jeffs finished with 25 points each.
Of the six titles that could be won for points, Tufts took two. Both the singles and the doubles brackets were broken up into smaller brackets, Flights A, B, and C. Senior co-captain Iffy Saeed took the Flight C title for the Jumbos, defeating Williams' Tracy Cheung 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
In the doubles, the tandem of senior co-captain Katie Nordstrom and sophomore Jen Lejb won three straight matches en route to a Flight A doubles title. The pair beat Amherst's Tristan Hedrick and Rachel Holt 8-4 in the final.
The Nordstrom/Lejb win was a testament to the team's improvement from its play in the match last Tuesday. The two had lost 8-3 just days before to the same team they beat in the finals at NESCACs.
"Jen and I were really clicking this weekend," Nordstrom said. "I like the tournament format [as opposed to the duel format] because it allows you to get in a rhythm and just keep getting practice. We were really used to playing together by the end of the weekend, so we knew it was all coming together."
The second seeded duo's three wins did not come easily, especially in the second round where Middlebury's Ariella Neville and Sandy Spring battled them before falling 8-6.
"Middlebury looked really strong out there this weekend, and our match was definitely no exception," Nordstrom said.
Saeed's journey to the top for her Flight C singles crown was no small task either. The fourth seed in her bracket, Saeed was able to win four matches over the course of the weekend on her way to the title.
"I was totally zoning in," Saeed said. "I am playing the best I've ever played right now, honestly."
On her way to the win, Saeed was faced with one, somewhat awkward challenge. In the semifinal, she had to face teammate and second seed Lisa Miller. Miller had beaten two straight opponents without losing a single game. Saeed beat her teammate 6-2, 6-1. However, it was not as satisfying for her as it would have been had the victory come against an opponent from another team.
"That was certainly a little weird playing my own teammate in a tournament format like that," Saeed said. "It was definitely interesting."
In other singles action, Lejb won once and then lost as the number four seed in Flight A. Freshman Becky Bram also won once and lost in the same flight. In Flight B, junior Barclay Gang won twice before bowing out in the semis. Nordstrom won once and then lost in the same flight.
As for the other doubles match ups, in Flight B, the second seeded team of Gang and sophomore Neda Pisheva was upset by Middlebury's Nina Popel and Jenna Siegel 8-3. In Flight C, the top seeded team of Saeed and sophomore Ashley Weisman won once before falling in the semis to Williams' Brittany Binet and Alexandra McClennan.
All in all, though, the things they worked on at practice last week translated well into play on the Williams courts this weekend.
"For doubles, we worked on closing in to the net, and for singles we tried to have more patience and just play smarter than we did against Amherst," Saeed said. "We hope we got a lot of the little things taken care of going into this weekend."
This weekend is the team's annual showdown with Williams. While the Jumbos are already guaranteed a spot in the New England Regionals, beating Williams would be a big boost for seeding, not to mention confidence.
"A lot of us were able to play against our opponent for Sunday this past weekend and do well," Nordstrom said. "So we feel we're definitely ready for the challenge."
This Sunday at Voute Courts here at Tufts, the Jumbos will find out if they truly are up to the task.
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