The women's tennis team, ranked 27th in the country, entered the weekend looking to pick up victories over highly ranked opponents and jumpstart the second half of its season.
These hopes were dashed at the Fab Five Women's Tennis Tournament where Pomona-Pitzer, host Washington & Lee, and Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Jumbos on consecutive days, leaving Tufts at 0-3 on the tournament and 5-5 on the season.
The tournament, designed to bring together teams from different regions prior to the start of the main season, headlined seven of the top 10 teams in the country, including No. 1 Emory, No. 2 Washington & Lee, No. 3 Amherst, and No. 4 Gustavus Adolphus.
"I think that if it [had] been during the middle of the season and not our first match, the results would be different," junior singles player Jen Luten said. "I think the first match is always the hardest, and we have also been practicing indoors and this match was our first outdoor match."
The Jumbos had their best chance of victory on Friday against Pomona-Pitzer, the only unranked team in the tournament. The top of Tufts' singles lineup held strong, but Tufts was handed a 6-3 loss.
Luten, playing at No. 1, outlasted Sagehen freshman Rebecca Lange 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. At No. 2, senior co-captain Becky Bram dominated Pomona-Pitzer freshman Kathryn Myers 6-1, 6-1. Junior Stephanie Ruley picked up the final win for Tufts in third singles, taking the match in three sets against junior Brittany Biebl 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.
Below the top three singles players, the Jumbos were unable to get a handle on the Sagehens. The bottom three singles players and all three doubles teams fell to their respective opponents, with only junior Silvia Schmid earning a third set, falling 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 to Sagehen freshman Anne Yoshizawa.
On Saturday, the team faced off against the No. 2 Washington & Lee Generals, who defended their ranking and their home courts, downing Tufts 8-1.
"We knew that this match would be our biggest challenge," Luten said. "However, we also thought that the team would underestimate our abilities. They are a great team, but I think we let them have a little too much credit on the court."
The only Jumbo victory against Washington & Lee came at the No. 5 singles slot, where Tufts junior Kylyn Deary defeated General freshman Tori Christmas 8-5. There were a limited number of indoor courts, so the squad ended up playing seven hours after their scheduled court time, necessitating shorter eight-game pro sets.
"I think the reason why we were dominated so much was because of this nervousness and anxiousness to play the whole day," Luten said. "We had to wait the whole day to play the match indoors because of the lack of indoor courts, so I think that we were all a little antsy all day to play. The nervousness definitely showed."
The Jumbos advanced to Sunday's match against No. 4 Gustavus Adolphus, hoping to salvage a victory from the disappointing weekend run, but came up short once again, losing 6-3. Playing again at No. 1, Luten came back against junior Lauren Hom to win in three sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 2, Bram also won in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 6-4) over senior Tara Houlihan. Moving up to the No. 4 slot, Deary overcame junior Jamie Gaard 6-4, 6-2.
The loss set an early pattern of wins high in the singles roster, but highlighted the weakness of the team's doubles roster.
"I think that our singles were very impressive," Luten said. "But like the Pomona match, it showed us we needed to work on our doubles more and how important they are in deciding the outcome of a match."
Having come up against two of the top four teams in the country was a learning experience, one that the Jumbos are eager to move past.
"I think this weekend helped our team realize the competition in Div. III tennis," Luten said. "We got to face some of the toughest teams in the nation and played a lot of great tennis."
With a 5-5 record and key matches against NESCAC opponents approaching in April, the Jumbos will need to regroup quickly and learn from last weekend's losses. The team will have a week to do just that, as its next match is not until next Tuesday. The Jumbos will take the court against Brandeis, looking to move back above .500 for the season.
"Brandeis has always had some good players, but we have always come out on top in the past," Luten said. "We think this year we can beat anyone, and we are confident that we are going to win."
