The No. 13 women's tennis team traveled to Amherst to play the national No. 3 Lord Jeffs on Wednesday in desperate need of a win. But the team was stymied in a 7-2 defeat, falling to 3-3 in the NESCAC and 7-8 overall, the first time it has been below .500 since March 22.
Despite the team's recent struggles, its last three losses have all come against top-10 teams. The Jumbos know they are playing better than the scores indicate.
"I think we did a good job of staying positive through out the whole match," junior captain Lindsay Katz said. "One of our goals is to be able to look down the lineup and not be able to tell if we are winning or losing at each spot, because we are always focused on the next point and supporting each other."
For the first time since the beginning of April, the Jumbos' doubles pairings remained the same in consecutive weeks. Nonetheless, they found themselves facing a 3-0 deficit after doubles play, as all three Tufts duos lost by 8-3 margins.
Tufts has also established a stable singles lineup, headed by Katz and freshman Sophie Schonfeld at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. While both lost 6-2, 6-3, they displayed mental fortitude in tough weather conditions.
"It was very windy, and I think we did a good job of playing in the elements and not letting it frustrate us," she said.
Further down the ladder at No. 4, sophomore Samantha Gann continued her impressive season, winning a tight match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. While Gann went up against a different Amherst opponent than the first time the teams met, the results were the same.
The team also got some help on Wednesday from junior Janice Lam at the bottom of the singles ladder. Lam took down her opponent with ease, 6-1, 6-2, marking her second win in a match against a top-15 team's player in her past three tries, with the other coming against No. 10 Bowdoin.
"We did a great job of not worrying who we were playing against, and just played our best," said Lam of the team's singles performances. "We did a great job of fighting in the singles, and every match was a fight regardless of the score."
With players like Lam and Gann coming up big, the Jumbos have been able to somewhat overcome the loss of sophomore Eliza Flynn last week. Katz has been impressed with her team's toughness, not just against Amherst but all season, as the Jumbos have had to overcome the difficulties of playing with a small roster.
"Overall, we are proud of ourselves and recognize that we are improving with each match," Katz said. "We are heading into the weekend and NESCACs with that mindset."
While Katz was certainly pleased with the team's effort, she did see some areas that need work, especially if Tufts hopes to take down No. 7 Middlebury tomorrow.
"Something we could have done better would have been serving," she said. "I definitely think that is something we are going to work on before our matches.
Basically, just getting one more ball back and forcing them to come up with better and better shots."
The Jumbos only have two conference matches left before the NESCAC Championship begins next Friday. Tomorrow's match comes against a Middlebury team that has already defeated No. 2 Emory and Bowdoin, two squads that have dealt Tufts losses this year. Tufts will finally get a break from top-10 competition when it hosts No. 28 Trinity on Sunday.
