Over the course of the fall the women turned in a very impressive 7-1 record, with their only loss coming to Division I power UMass. But even more important than their record may have been the individual play of the young team.
"I couldn't have been more proud of the team and our performance over the fall," said co-captain Roopali Agarwal '03.
Led by a trio of underclassmen-Kristen Raverta '06, Rachel Holt '05 and Tristan Hedrick '05-the Jeffs may have faced some uncertainty entering the season. Holt, who was an All-American last year as a freshman lived up to her billing, but it was Raverta that was the biggest surprise.
One of the Jeffs' biggest recruits in recent years, Raverta stepped right into the lineup and did not skip a beat in the difficult transition from high school to college play. As the Jeffs number one seed, Raverta lost only twice all year. The first loss came in the match against UMass, and the second came in the semifinals of the Omni ITA New England Regional Championship. The most significant of her wins came at the New England Championships, where Raverta led the Jeffs to the team title with an individual title of her own in the top singles spot. While it is may be premature make these types of comparisons, Raverta seems poised to embark upon a Jamie Cohen-like '01 career at Amherst, mimicking one of the best in the history of the school. The tandem of Holt and Hedrick also had an impressive fall. Holt took home the singles title at the Omni ITA event and was the runner-up in the second singles flight at New Englands. Hedrick solidified the Jeffs' top three in the third singles slot, and along with Holt she won the first doubles title at New Englands.
The two Jeff captains also played a major role in the fall season. Paige Lawrence '03 was a force at the fourth singles slot, while also winning the second doubles flight with Raverta at New Englands. Agarwal fought through an injury for much of the semester, but is expected to be back healthy for the spring season.
Amherst started the season off strong, and they weren't challenged in their first few matches. On the opening weekend of the season the Jeffs took on Trinity and Skidmore Colleges, and came away with a pair of 9-0 wins.
The Jeffs next faced their first real challenge of the season, the aforementioned match with UMass. Although they came away on the wrong side of a 5-4 match, they played well against the Minutemen, who are a good Division I program.
After this win the Jeffs ripped off four straight wins against relatively easy competition. Bowdoin College was the only opponent to win any matches off of the Jeffs in this stretch, as they shut out Wesleyan, Bates and Colby in succession. Amherst dominated much of their competition this fall, scoring five perfect 9-0 shutouts, but it was their late season win over Williams College that was the highlight of the season. The Ephs, the two-time defending national champion, has been the thorn in the Jeffs' side for the last few years, and the Jeffs cleared a big hurdle when they came away with a 6-3 victory on Oct. 12.
One of the biggest improvements for the Jeffs this fall was the play of their doubles teams. Traditionally, the Jeffs have excelled at singles and had a relative struggle in doubles play. This fall, doubles play was the strong point of the team. At the New England Championships, the Jeffs took home the title in all three doubles flights, with Erin Murphy '05 and Wallis Molchen '04 taking home the third doubles title. In the match against the Ephs it was the Jeffs sweep of the three doubles matches that made the difference in the final score.
"We have really stressed communication and focus in our doubles drills," said Agarwal. "We saw all the hard work on our doubles play pay off."
While the Jeffs fall campaign was remarkably successful, they, unlike most collegiate sports, still have another full season to compete in. With Williams the two-time defending national champion, the Jeffs will likely have to bring their title hopes through Williamstown again if they wish to add Sto their NCAA title in 1999. "We just need to keep working hard over the winter and enter the spring with the same intensity," added Agarwal.