At 2000 New England Championships
Going in to the weekend as heavy favorites (along with rival Williams), the squad was looking to cap off their season fittingly with a victory over the 26 team field.
Though falling just short of that mark, the Amherst women's tennis team took an impressive second place.
The "loss" (unfortunately to Williams, first overall) came as a slight disappointment to the optimistic Lord Jeffs, and their coach.
"We didn't do as well as we would have liked in New Englands," said Heather Cole '02 after the match. However, she did point out, perhaps more importantly, that the team "beat Williams last week when it counted."
The victory last week was in fact more important, at least in the standings, as the New England Championships does not count towards a team's overall record.
"It [the tournament] is more for pride," said Cole.
In light of their fall season and even this past weekend, the Amherst women still have good reason to be proud.
At the start of the tournament (arranged in flights, where a number three singles player would play another number three singles player) Amherst got off to a bad start, albeit inadvertently.
Due to a miscommunication about scheduling, and subsequently some questionable behavior by the tournament directors, number two singles player Susanna Burke '03 defaulted and was handed a first round exit. The controversy stemmed from the directors failure to notify either coach Jackie Bagwell or Burke of the correct time of her match and as a result Burke was not present, and forfeited.
"It brought everybody down, it is so hard to win a tournament after something like that," said Bagwell.
But the Amherst contingent played on despite the setback.
Number one singles player Jamie Cohen '01 charged through the first round, quarter-finals, and semi's, and met the number one from Williams in the final.
An Amherst/Williams final was not an uncommon sight. Cohen, unfortunately, was the sole Amherst victor.
Regardless, the women played tough and went down fighting. Cole, playing number four singles, lost a three set heartbreaker in the finals, holding off several match points but eventually slipping behind, 6-4, 4-6, 5-7.
Carolyn Pastel '01, at number three singles, lost to a tough Williams opponent in the third round. Despite that loss, "she played very well," commented Bagwell.
Number four singles Stephanie Fong '02 played a solid match in the semifinals of her flight but fell to her opponent, perhaps drained from a great three-set match in the quarterfinals.
Paige Lawrence '03, along with Cole and Fong, took second in her flight, again falling in the finals after a grueling three-hour match in the semis.
The doubles teams also had mixed success. The number two doubles team of Cole and Fong advanced the furthest, winning three matches before losing in the finals. Number one and three doubles were less successful, noted Bagwell, because they "underachieved."
The 6-1 Amherst women's tennis team was undefeated in the NESCAC league (their one loss coming at the hands of Div. I University of Massachusetts) this fall, but what does this mean for the spring?
"There are a lot of talented teams out there, and we are going to have to work hard if we want to win in the spring," said Bagwell.
With all the fall's success, however, winning hardly seems an unreachable goal for the women's tennis team.