On Saturday the Jeffs traveled to Williamstown to play the Ephs, who are ranked first regionally and second in the nation. Josh Rilla '06, Amherst's number-one singles player, posted his team's sole victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win.
"[Rilla] really showed everyone how great of a player he is," said co-captain Rob Feeley '04. "Each player fought hard and that was all we could ask for."
Rilla was not wholly disappointed by the team loss. "We got smoked by Williams, but at least we got to see what we need to do between now and the end of the season to match their level."
The next day the Jeffs turned the score around in a 6-1 victory over the NYU Violets, taking five singles matches in straight sets and all three doubles pairings in the process.
Rilla was again victorious at first singles, 6-2, 6-1. Danny Babkes '06 won second singles 6-3, 6-0, while Jeff Lawrence '07 took number three 6-2, 7-5. Co-captain Max Rettig '05 won at fourth singles 6-1, 6-0 but fellow captain Feeley was defeated in the fifth singles flight. Because the match had already been decided in Amherst's favor, Feeley played a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a third set to determine the match outcome, and lost, 2-6, 6-3, 10-2. Jon Godsall '06 also won his number-six singles match, 6-3, 6-4.
Amherst swept the doubles matches. Babkes and Rilla took number one convincingly, 8-1. In second doubles Godsall and Lawrence had an 8-2 victory, as did Scott Bronner '06 and Arpan Podduturi '05 at third doubles.
"We played very well as a team against NYU. Specifically, the caliber of our doubles was outstanding. Each of our doubles teams showed unwavering confidence and determination," said Feeley.
Godsall concurred. "The most impressive part of [Sunday's] win was the doubles; this is the first time we have won all three doubles against a good team since I've been at Amherst."
"The NYU match was great, the best we've played collectively the entire year. Everyone went into the match with the desire not only to win, but to absolutely crush our opponents which is a mindset we've lacked in past matches," said Rilla.
This spring the Jeffs are 4-1 at home, their one defeat coming from Div. I Boston College, and 0-2 away. "We clearly play much better at home than at other schools, which is a good sign, because our match against Bowdoin [College] here next Sunday will likely determine whether we make the NCAA regionals or not. It's a must-win," Godsall said.
"The rest of our season is going to be an uphill climb," Rilla said. "[Our upcoming opponents] on paper have fared better than we have."
The Jeffs play in Vermont on Saturday and return to Amherst for the Bowdoin match at 2:00 p.m. the next day. "Middlebury will be the toughest test of the season," said Godsall. "They are stronger than last year and very talented. To beat them we'll need everyone to play their best and get a little lucky. Bowdoin, on the other hand, should be a very close match and should come down the wire."
The Williams and NYU matches have helped prepare Amherst for the remainder of the season. "Both [games] helped us to learn from our mistakes and to give us great practice for some more upcoming tough matches," said Feeley. "I expect that these will all be challenging matches; however, we have very good chances to beat these teams, given the amount of talent that our team has. We have to believe in ourselves."