Their 6-9 record may seem less than impressive but includes many hard-fought matches against the best teams in the nation. The team managed a great 5-4 win against 18th-ranked Colby College to end its Interterm slide, boosting the Jeffs' confidence and entering the new calendar year with the right foot forward.
"The team is really pumped about the upcoming tournaments we have," said senior co-captain Lauren Coape-Arnold. "We are just at the peak of our season, and each team member is really improving everyday, so we are definitely looking forward to playing the NESCAC teams,"
On Saturday, the Jeffs entered the Little Three Championship against Wesleyan University and Williams
College with this momentum. Last year the 11th-ranked team placed second in the tournament, falling to Williams 0-9 after beating Wesleyan 9-0. This year, the Ephs are ranked eighth in the nation, and the Cardinals are 25th.
Playing in the number-one spot, junior Caroline Shannon led the team with the hopes of stopping a repeat of last year. "I have confidence that we will do well against Wesleyan," she predicted before the match. "Williams will be a harder match, but I think that if we play the way that we have been playing we will do well against them."
The squad competed against Wesleyan on Saturday morning, and easily bowled the Cardinals, 8-1. Junior Emily O'Brien, who plays in the number-two position for the Jeffs, denied her opponent even one point. At the number-six slot, Sarah Harper '07 followed suit 9-1, 9-0, 9-0. Junior Abby Mantica, who plays at number five, also had an easy match in which she closed out her opponent 9-1, 9-1, 9-0. The Jeffs did relinquish a point at the number nine position. Senior Margo Nathan fought hard in the first game and barely lost, 10-9. However, her Cardinal opponent, was able to win the next two, 9-3, 9-3.
The Jeffs were not as successful against the Ephs-they were unable to win even one game. Harper had the closest match: a 9-2, 9-6, 9-2 defeat. Coape-Arnold put up a hard fought 9-5 game before capitulating 9-1, 9-0. Sophomore Di Kirkwood was almost swept but was able to score a point in the last game to make the score 9-0, 9-0, 9-1. O'Brien also stayed competitive, posting a 9-4, 9-2, 9-1 loss as the Jeffs continued the tradition of losing to the Ephs for the seventh year in a row.
The Jeffs rolled off the split to rally at Mt. Holyoke College, ranked 24th in the nation. Last year, the squad blanked the Lyons 9-0. This year the Jeffs had a bit more trouble, but still pulled out the win. Kirkwood contributed to the victorious effort 9-6, 9-0, 9-1, as did Mantica 9-7, 9-3, 9-0. Shannon had a tougher time, losing her match 9-0, 9-1, 9-0. Nathan had a hard fought match as well, winning her first two games 9-3, 9-2, before her Lyon opponent was able to turn it around and close 9-6, 9-6, 9-5. Luckily, the other Jeffs pulled through with wins to seal the deal at 7-2.
"I'm really proud of the way our team pulled together tonight. This is just what we need to be competitive against Yale [University], which will be a tough match," said Mantica.
Last season the Jeffs were swept by the Bulldogs 9-0, who are currently ranked first in the nation. Amherst is looking for revenge tonight when they travel to New Haven, Conn.
With the NESCAC Championships starting on Feb. 10, the Jeffs hope to learn from playing top-notch competition to place well at the conference match.