The Jeffs opened up their spring season with a hotly contested 5-4 victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Co-captain Jamie Cohen '01, Heather Cole '02 and Co-captain Carolyn Pastel '01 led the way with singles victories, while doubles tandems Vassilissa Kozoulina '02 and Cohen, and Stephanie Fong '02 and Cole, also chipped in key wins.
After that promising start to their spring campaign, Amherst lost a close battle with Cal State-Fullerton 5-4. Cole, Pastel and Kozoulina were all in the win column as singles players, while the number two doubles team of Fong and Cole also picked up a victory. The turning point of the match was Cohen's epic three-set defeat to Fullerton's number-one singles player, which featured two controversial calls at match point.
Rather than let the heart-breaking loss to Fullerton break their spirit, the Jeffs bounced back with a resounding 8-1 trashing of Trinity University. Trinity, the defending Division III National Champion, was outmatched by a clearly superior Amherst squad. The Jeffs swept all three doubles matches and then went on to win five out of the six singles matches. Cohen, Fong, Susanna Burke '03, Cole and Kozoulina all won their individual matches to carry Amherst to the victory.
The highlight of the week was the win over Trinity. "We beat them pretty handily, which is good," said Pastel. "It gives us more confidence for the rest of the season."
Amherst wrapped up its road trip with a dominant performance against Hardin-Simmons. Each player executed well and finished off her opponent swiftly, wrapping up the win in a timely manner for the Jeffs. With this shutout, the Jeffs hope to set the tone for the rest of the season.
Though the team was disappointed with the tough loss to Fullerton, the road trip as a whole was a success. Through three solid victories over their Division III opponents, the Jeffs proved that they will once again be a major contender for the national championship that they claimed as their own in 1999.
For now, the women will have to wait until their next competition. After playing the four matches while on their spring trip the Jeffs must wait until April 7 for their next action. On the seventh the Jeffs start their day with a match against the College of New Jersey (TCNJ), and they play a second match that afternoon against the Princeton University junior varsity team. Last spring the Jeffs swept TCNJ 9-0 in their only meeting.
After those two matches the Jeffs must wait another 11 days before their first NESCAC game, which will come against Tufts University. The Jeffs will travel to Medford to face the Jumbos,