With the last tournament of the fall season behind them and the spring season five months ahead, the members of the women's tennis team have many reasons to celebrate. The Jumbos went 4-0 this season in dual matches, and they never lost more than two matches to any single opponent.
Their tournament play, however, was another story, as the Jumbos were far from unbeatable.
In this past weekend's New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament, held at Amherst, the women ran into some stiff opposition, with many players struggling in both the singles and doubles brackets. There was, however, one bright spot for the Jumbos, and it could be found in singles, at the two-seed.
Freshman Meghan McCooey was by far the most successful of the Jumbos in the singles section of the tournament. She advanced into the semifinals of her bracket, beating opponents from all over the region and winning 40 individual games with only 16 losses. However, she eventually lost to second-seeded Grace Baljon, the eventual champion of the bracket, 6-0, 6-1, in the semifinal.
"[Baljon] was very strong, but I think I played really well," McCooey said.
"She definitely stood out this weekend," coach Kate Bayard said. "I have a lot of confidence in Meghan and her game, and I think that it was a great way for her to end her season."
Senior tri-captain Kylyn Deary was the only other member of the team to win a singles match. Deary, the fourth seed in her bracket, won her first match against Britt Fallon of Conn. College, 6-2, 6-0. After coasting through her first match, Deary faced junior Hali Walther of Wellesley. Deary won the first set 6-3, but lost the second in a tiebreaker 7-6 (5), and eventually lost the third set 6-3.
Luten, the fourth seed in her singles bracket, was eliminated in her first match by Bowdoin sophomore Sarah D'Elia. Luten, after winning the first set 6-4, lost the next two sets 6-3 and 6-3. D'Elia would later advance to the finals, but lost 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to Williams sophomore Cary Gibson.
"I thought that I played okay, but I wish I did a little better," Luten said. "But I felt that I learned a lot from my match."
Senior Silvia Schmid, sophomore Mari Homma, and freshman Erica Miller all lost their first singles matches. Homma was the first seed in her bracket and Miller was the third seed in hers, but the two were both sent home via first round upsets.
In doubles play, two Jumbo pairs advanced to the semi-finals-Luten-Deary, and Miller and junior Megan Gentzler. The Luten-Deary combo, which Bayard was determined to utilize from day one, was the fourth seed in its bracket and won its first match 8-4 and the second 8-0. The pair lost, however, in the semifinals to juniors Jenna Mezin and Walther of Wellesley 8-5.
"I felt that this is the best that they played all season," Bayard said. "They are one of the top teams in the country and they are playing like it now. With each match they get better and better. They were brilliant."
Miller and Gentzler won their first three matches, 9-7, 8-1, 8-0, but lost to the duo of sophomore Rachel Waldman and freshman Brett Davis from Bowdoin 8-6 in the semifinals. Waldman and Davis went on to become the champions of the doubles bracket.
Finally, the combo of McCooey and Homma won their first doubles match against junior Louise Taylor and senior Aki Tokutake of Salve Regina, 8-1, but lost their second match 9-8(4) to Conn. College's senior Britt Fallon and freshman Jessica Bender.
"I think all of us definitely tried our hardest," Luten said of her team. "We were all very excited for the tournament, and it showed us what we need to work on for the spring."
This season's results were an improvement upon those of 2005. Last year, Tufts sent only one singles player to the New England Championships' semifinals and just one doubles team to the quarterfinals, while this year's team featured three semifinalists - McCooey in singles, and two doubles teams.
"The biggest area we've improved on is playing smart tennis and being proactive," Bayard said. "Our awareness on the court has greatly increased, and [so has] our ability to recognize when a match is going our way."
During the fall season, Bayard often stressed the importance of match toughness and mental confidence, stressing the situational knowledge of when to play up and when to play defensively.
"I think we're all are more match-tough," Luten said. "Mentally, we need to learn that we have enough confidence to play with the best."
"With each match, we get better and better," Bayard said. "We've improved in many areas and we plan to keep improving right through the spring season."
