The national No. 5 women's tennis team (9−2, 3−0 NESCAC) continued its stellar performance this weekend, pummeling a pair of NESCAC opponents to keep its perfect conference record intact. The Jumbos beat No. 12 Bowdoin 8−1 at home Friday before crushing Trinity 9−0 on the road Saturday in Hartford, Conn.
"It is testament to our focus and hard work to be able to beat both Bowdoin and Trinity so handily," senior tri−captain Julia Browne said. "Everyone fought to take care of business on the court and did not let up even if the match got tight."
Browne, the reigning Div. III national champion in singles and current national No. 1, won both of her matches in straight sets this weekend, beating Trinity's Hillary Hoyt 6−1 6−1 on Saturday and Bowdoin's Kellen Alberstone on Friday by the same score.
In fact, the Jumbos only dropped one singles match the entire weekend — the tilt on Friday at the No. 3 spot in the ladder between freshman Shelci Bowman and Bowdoin's Emma Lewis, which the Polar Bears won, 4−6, 6−4, 6−0. Meanwhile, Tufts was undefeated in all six doubles matches.
On Saturday, Tufts swept the Bantams, dropping only one set the entire day, at No. 5 singles, in which freshman Samantha Gann prevailed 10−3 in the deciding tiebreaker after losing the second set to Trinity's Kelsey Semrod 4−6.
Friday's matchup against nationally ranked Bowdoin was the toughest of the weekend. Last year the Jumbos beat the Polar Bears 6−3, but on Friday the team showed even more mental toughness by prevailing 8−1, including four singles matches that were won in the third set
"Friday's match was a good win for us," sophomore Lindsay Katz said. "To beat a team 8−1 shows what a strong team we are and how deep our lineup is."
Katz and her doubles partner, freshman Eliza Flynn, won both of their matches at No. 2 doubles this weekend by a score of 8−4. Both the No. 1 doubles team of Browne and Bowman and the No. 3 doubles team of Gann and sophomore Janice Lam also were unbeaten this weekend.
"Our doubles [teams] have come so far," senior tri−captain Edwina Stewart said. "I am so proud of how our team has done. Bowdoin is always a strong team. A lot of the singles went to three [sets], so it was very impressive that we were able to keep our intensity and focus up throughout."
"I think our doubles is the best in the country right now," freshman Samantha Gann added. "Bowdoin is a great team to play; they have good talent and are feisty. They are good prep for the top−10 teams."
The two wins this weekend gives the team a four−match winning streak. The team attributes its strong showing to the hard work the players put in during their spring break trip in late March, where the team knocked off two top−10 teams at the Fab 10 Tournament at Emory College.
"Spring Break was very motivating for us," Stewart said. "It brought us a lot closer. Mental toughness has always been a strong point for our team, and I continue to be impressed with the mental toughness of our underclassmen."
The Jumbos will take on Conn. College tomorrow, and will continue to work toward their goal of a national championship.
"We look to take this momentum into our next week of matches and contjkinue to remain confident," Browne said.
