Tufts women's tennis is well aware that there will be matches down the road where every point will count. And while that was not the case in yesterday's 9-0 home win over Bates College(1-2, 0-2 NESCAC), it is clear just how much energy the team focuses into winning every point, specifically in the doubles matches.
"We've played three teams who probably were among the easier ones on our schedule," coach Doug Eng said. "But we won them all 9-0, when in the past sometimes we might have dropped one of the doubles matches. We're winning the doubles very cleanly; that's the good news."
Eng and his Jumbos (3-0, 2-0 NESCAC) have clearly focused much of their energy into working on doubles play, as the tennis coach knows the amount of effort it takes to develop and execute solid doubles strategy. As the competition level rises, which it will at this weekend's ITA Championships, stealing a doubles point from a strong team could go a long way toward a close victory.
While many teams emphasize taking control and putting away points at the net, Eng has the team taking a different approach to securing points.
"We're playing a lot of one-up-one-back in the doubles," the coach said. "We're really working on recognizing how to pressure the opponents and closing in when they're under pressure. I'm not concerned with [us] playing two at the net as much."
The hard work paid off again yesterday, as Tufts swept the doubles points. Sophomores Jen Luten and Kylyn Deary led the way for the Jumbos with an 8-4 result over Bobcat senior co-captain Heather Bracken and her sophomore partner Emma Nochomovitz in the first position.
Senior tri-captains Neda Pisheva and Jennifer Lejb also logged their third win as a team this season, defeating senior Tara DeVito and sophomore Laura Harris of Bates (8-2) at second doubles. Senior tri-captain Trina Spear and classmate Ashley Weisman rounded out the doubles success with an 8-5 third doubles win over Bates junior Liz Currie and her freshman partner Cecilia Grissa.
While the Jumbos swept the singles matches as well, there were a couple of tight matches in which a less prepared team could have slipped up.
"Bates gave the most resistance of all the teams we've played so far," Eng said. "I think they were much deeper than Colby. A couple of the matches like Trina at four and Stephanie [Ruley] at six were very tight matches early on."
It took three sets for Spear to rally back and bring her record at third singles to 3-0. After dropping the first set 3-6, she fought back to defeat Currie (3-6, 6-1, 6-0). Sophomore Stephanie Ruley held off Bracken's first set charge and won the tiebreaker before shutting her out in the second set to secure her third win of the season by a score of 7-6 (3), 6-0.
As they have been all season long, Luten and Lejb were efficient in the first and second slots, respectively. Both moved to 3-0 on the year with Luten downing DeVito 6-0, 6-2 and Lejb triumphing by a score of 6-1, 6-2 over Grissa. Freshman Lani Ackerman also had an especially strong performance with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Harris in the fifth position.
Sophomore Kylyn Deary rounded out the lineup with a straight-set win, holding off Nochomovitz 6-2, 7-5 for her second win over the Bates sophomore in two years. Deary, who moved to 3-0 at third singles with the win, was excited with how well the lineup has come together early on in the season.
"I think that we were a little nervous losing Barclay [Gang], Becky [Bram], and Lisa [Miller]," she said. "But everyone's really stepped it up, and our doubles have really been our strong point. In the past they kind of held us back, but not this year. Our doubles are really strong."
Having won their first three matches by a combined score of 27-0, the whole team appears strong all the way down the line. With the ITA Championships ahead this weekend at Williams, Eng is excited to see how his team will fare against the region's best competition.
"We have most of the top seeds, so there are high expectations on us," Eng said. "It's a tough draw because it's a draw of 64, so if you're going to win the whole thing, you have to play six matches. That's a lot of tennis."
"It's going to be last girl standing," the coach continued. "If you get a couple of easy [early round matches] I think that makes a big difference. They'll get to see the other best players in the region, but, like I said, it's a lot of matches."
After logging three quick wins to open the season, Deary and the Jumbos have plenty of confidence going into their first big test of the year.
"I think our whole team feels pretty ready going to ITA's," Deary said. "We've been playing strong singles and doubles, and everyone's been practicing really hard too."
