Three rookies won their first collegiate matches as the women's tennis team pounded Smith in its season opener, sweeping the singles play en route to an 8-1 win.
Senior tri-captains Jen Luten and Kylyn Deary each defeated their singles opponents playing in the first and third spots, respectively, while freshman Meghan McCooey picked up a victory in her first collegiate singles match in the No. 2 slot.
"I think it's very impressive that we swept in singles," Deary said.
In addition to McCooey's win, senior Silvia Schmid, sophomore Mari Homma and freshman Erica Miller, playing fourth, fifth and six respectively, earned victories to help Tufts dominate the singles competition over the Pioneers.
Tufts augmented its perfect singles play with a two-of-three doubles showing.
"The doubles went well, but there is definitely room for improvement," Deary said of the team's play. "Even though we took two of the three matches, we will need to play smart and more aggressive doubles against the top teams to walk away with a win."
Luten and Deary earned a win in the No.1 doubles match, defeating juniors Seiko Fuiji and Talia Williams of Smith, 8-2.
"Jen [Luten] and Kylyn [Deary] looked like a top team in the country yesterday after the first game or two," coach Kate Bayard said. "They played the other team to get the type of balls they like to hit."
Although Luten and Deary took the first doubles match strongly, doubles will continue to be an area of prime focus during team's fall training. Winning a majority of the three matches has value past the point it earns; as doubles matches are played first, the momentum can often carry into singles play.
"Although we won two of three of the doubles matches, Smith played smarter doubles than we did overall," Bayard said. "We have a lot of work to do with doubles."
While the No. 1 doubles slot featured a veteran duo, the second and third matches saw debuts for new combinations of players. From the No. 2 spot, McCooey and Miller played their first doubles match together, falling 8-6 to Smith seniors Kate Johnson and Macalagh Herman.
"This was the first match for Erica and Meghan, and they were tentative out there," Bayard said. "They felt more comfortable in the last two games, but it was too late."
At No. 3, the duo of Homma and junior Megan Gentzler started slow but came together for a win in the third doubles spot, indicating need for further progress, according to Bayard.
"They will need to work on staggering their positioning more when they're at the net so they can cover more court and create more opportunities," Bayard said.
Deary and Luten will play together at the top doubles slot for the remainder of the fall. While the tri-captains will remain a team for the duration-Bayard is confident in her top two players-the rest of the doubles line-up may vary this fall in order to discover the best pairs.
Senior tri-captain Stephanie Ruley will most likely see some time in the doubles lineup along with her singles playing. Out Wednesday with a back injury, Ruley's condition is day-to-day.
The team's practices this fall with focus on both technique and on-court temperament, especially learning when to play aggressively and when to remain patient.
"We need to focus on shot selection and keeping it simple out there," Bayard said. "We also need to work on our court positioning. We need to master the basic stuff in doubles before we can get into the fancy stuff. We need to place our serves to the inside more to set up the volleyer."
Bayard has made a positive impact on the program since her start last fall, and her second year is shaping up as similar to her first.
"The team has definitely stepped up since coach has taken the lead role," Deary said. "All the girls on the team serve and volley in doubles and finish points at the net in singles. It's great to see the entire team execute aggressive play tactics, and win matches with these added skills."
The team will get its next chance to showcase these skills today when they pay a visit to non-conference Babson. NESCAC play opens this weekend with matches at Amherst against the host Lord Jeffs and Middlebury.
