Women's tennis falls to number one Emory 8-1
April 11Finally, the women's tennis team came back down to earth. Playing before its largest crowd of the season, Tufts lost its unbeaten record Friday afternoon, falling 8-1 to the number one Emory Eagles at the Voute Courts. The Jumbos dropped to 10-1 on the year while their opponent improved to 14-1. Junior Jen Lejb was the only Jumbo to win, dropping Carina Alberelli in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Down 3-2 in the second set, Lejb battled back by breaking her opponent's serve in the sixth, eighth, and final game. With Lejb up 4-3 and 15-love in the game, Alberelli double faulted and then Lejb delivered a crosscourt backhand and a short drop volley to go up 5-3. She dropped a quick ninth game and then, with all the other matches done and everyone watching, finally pulled out the win when Alberelli hit a lob long on match point. "It was good to see Jen win," freshman Jen Luten said. "She worked really hard and it helped end the match on more of a positive note." The other Jumbos did not see as much success as Lejb, though. Luten fell 6-1, 6-2 at first singles, and sophomore Becky Bram was downed 6-0, 6-3 at third singles. Both seemed to be difficult matchups for the Jumbos, as Luten, a strong baseline player, ran up against an even stronger one, and the normally consistent Bram faced an opponent who played nearly mistake-free tennis. "Coach told me during the match to try to mix up my shots a little bit and be more patient," Luten said. "I definitely should have been more patient, I tried to come out and play aggressively and bang it out with her, which probably wasn't the smartest way to play because she was pretty overpowering. I don't think I've ever been aced so many times." At number four, senior captain Barclay Gang, playing in pain with a diagnosed hernia, lost 6-2, 6-0. "[The injury] affected me a lot, but I wouldn't say that was why I lost," Gang said. "She got to everything I hit, she was like a backboard, and I just couldn't stay out there long enough. It hurts, but I'm going to play with it and wait to get it taken care of after the season, so I'm going to have to get used to it and not make excuses." "She's a trooper," Luten said of her captain. "I don't know how she does it. It's bothering her a lot off the court so I'm pretty sure it's bothering her a lot on the court." Sophomore Lisa Miller (6-1, 6-2) and freshman Kylyn Deary (6-2, 6-2) lost at the fifth and sixth spots, respectively. For Luten, Miller, and Deary, it was their first loss in regular dual match competition this year. At doubles, Lejb and Luten went up against the top doubles team in the nation of Mary Ellen Gordon and Jolyn Taylor, and held a 6-5 lead before faltering and falling 8-6. "I was really pumped after doubles," Luten said. "That was probably the best Jen and I played all year. So it was a little frustrating to lose in singles like I did." The pairing of Gang and junior Neda Pisheva at the second doubles spot and Bram and Deary at third both fell 8-2. "I feel like we didn't really know what to expect," Luten said. "We had had a lot of pretty easy matches, and we knew Emory was good, but it's one thing to hear that someone is number one and another thing to see it. This can only help us get better though. Now we know what level we need to be at and what we need to work on." The squad travels to Amherst tomorrow afternoon for a dual meet and then returns there this weekend for the NESCAC championship. "We really hadn't played that many tough matches this year," Gang said. "This was a good experience for us, especially with the tough matches we have coming up."
