After losing to the Ephs of Williams College on Oct. 13, a day in which no Jeff team escaped Williamstown with a victory, the women's tennis team became the first Amherst squad to exact their revenge, taking back the New England Championship title that the Ephs won last year.

The loss to the Ephs was their first of the fall, and it was excruciatingly close. Likewise, very little separated the two teams this time around, with the Jeffs notching 43 points to the Ephs 41.

The Jeffs gained most of their strength from their lower bracket players. Leading the way was Rachel Holt '05, who ended the fall season undefeated. Holt took home the victory in her bracket with a win over Kate Troy of Williams. She dominated the finals match, beating Troy 7-5, 6-2.

Wallis Molchen '04 was the second Jeff to take home an individual title. While she did not have as easy a time in her win, she took home the title nonetheless. Molchen took a 6-4 win in the first set but fell 7-5 in the second to Stephanie Hall of Williams. In the third set neither player wanted to yield, and it came down to a tiebreak. Here Molchen pulled away, taking a 7-2 victory in the tiebreak, to win the set 7-6.

Tri-captain Heather Cole '02 also took home a title. In her finals match Cole walked all over Brittany Binet of Williams in two sets, 6-4, 6-3.

"This was a whole team effort," said Molchen. "We all fought really hard and it paid off."

In the top of the singles bracket, the Jeffs weren't quite as lucky. Tri-captain Stephanie Fong '02 injured her ankle in her quarterfinal match and fell 6-0, 6-2. In the second singles flight Susanna Burke '03 fell 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Tri-captain Vas Kozoulina '02 fell in the third round, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6).

In doubles play the Jeffs took home two of the three titles. Fong and Cole fell 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the final, but the teams of Kozoulina and Paige Lawrence '03 and Burke and Holt took home wins in the second and third doubles flights, respectively.

"Key matches turned against Williams, and we leave this season knowing exactly how great we can be," said Fong. "We can start looking toward another national championship now."