The women's tennis team flexed its veteran muscles and flashed its young talent in the ITA Regional Tournament over the weekend.
Looking to improve upon last year's showing in the tournament, in which not one Jumbo advanced into the later rounds in either singles or doubles, coach Kate Bayard was pleased with her stronger lineup this time around.
"It was a good weekend," Bayard said. "Although performance varies from person to person, I was happy with the overall performance."
Bayard was certainly pleased by senior tri-captains Jen Luten and Kylyn Deary who, after being eliminated in the doubles championship bracket, bounced back to take first place in the consolation bracket.
"Jen and Kylyn showed character in winning the consolation bracket," Bayard said. "They get stronger with every match."
"It definitely shows that we can regroup after we lost in the first round," Luten added. "We have a lot of good things to look forward to this season."
Although promising, the Luten-Deary duo was not the only successful doubles team representing Tufts in the tournament. Freshman Meghan McCooey and sophomore Mari Homma advanced to the second round in the doubles championship but lost their second match to Vassar seniors Kelly Graham and Debbie Sharnak, 8-4.
"Meghan and Mari played extremely well in the first round," Bayard said. "They played great, but it was a couple games too late."
The Jumbos fared better in the singles portion of the tournament. McCooey won her first two matches but lost the third to freshman Nicole Pontee of Vassar, 6-0, 6-1.
Deary advanced to the second round of play but ran into Bowdoin's Kristen Raymond and was eliminated by a score of 6-2, 6-4. Senior Silvia Schmid also progressed to the second round of play, but eighth-seeded Alicia Menezes of Amherst, ultimately a semi-finalist, cut her run short.
Luten was also successful, advancing deep into the tournament, winning the first three rounds in straight sets but eventually fell to Middlebury's Amy Roche 6-2, 6-1. Roche ultimately won the singles tournament.
"I thought I played very well," Luten said. "It was good to get some wins under my belt, but I definitely think that I have a lot to improve on. I need to be more patient and match-tough."
Bayard's philosophy of increasing match toughness resonated with her number one player, as Luten hopes to be more selective and patient in the upcoming matches against MIT, Sept. 28, and NYU, Oct. 7.
"This weekend was really good preparation for the MIT match," Bayard said. "We will have a tough match against MIT; their top players are extremely strong."
The penultimate dual competition of the regular season, the MIT match, which Tufts won last year 7-2, will help prepare the team for the Small College Championships Oct. 12-15 and New Englands Oct. 20-22.
