The women's tennis team has been one of the most successful teams in school history, reaching the NCAA Final Four in seven of the last eight years under Head Coach Jackie Bagwell. Senior tri-captains Kristen Raverta, Hadley Miller and Miranda Kim have been to the NCAA Final Four in each of their first three seasons, but have repeatedly fallen short of the coveted National title. After gaining much experience the past few years and coming so close to tasting victory, this year the Jeffs have their eyes set on the grand prize-their first National Championship since 1999.

"That kind of experience gives us confidence," said Miller. "But it also boosts expectations. Regardless, this is one streak we want to continue."

At the end of the fall season, the Jeffs singles ladder from number one to number seven was as follows: Raverta, Monica Snyder '08, Alicia Menezes '08, Jennifer Murphy '08, Miller and Laura Stein '08. The doubles teams, from first to third were Menezes-Raverta, Murphy-Snyder and Miller-Stein. The spring ladder could be slightly tweaked, though, as the team plays each other very competitively.

Amherst will have to try to fill the void left by Katie Hudson '07, who went down with a knee injury and missed the fall season. She is expected to miss the majority of the spring season as well. Despite the key loss, Amherst showed its tremendous depth and had a phenomenal fall campaign.

The women are coming off an undefeated fall which included a 2-2 tie against Div. I foe UMass and a win at the New England Women's Intercollegiate tournament. Amherst dominated the tournament, tallying 41 points as a team, 31 points ahead of second-place Williams College. "The fall season was a great opportunity for us to get some solid match experience and gain confidence going into the spring season," said Murphy. "Our excellent match record and tournament results proved to us that we are a very deep and strong team, and it certainly motivated us to work hard in the off-season, knowing the potential we have to compete at a high level against the other top teams in the nation."

Going into the spring season, Amherst is looking to continue its powerful singles play, which has been a clear strength. Many of the players have always specialized in singles, and, therefore, improving doubles play has been a main focus in Amherst's training. "The team is always trying to improve our doubles play," said Raverta. "Many of us did not even play doubles during junior tennis and it is a new 'concept' for us in college. We have been working intensely on doubles in practice."

Amherst's schedule is very challenging and should provide great experience for the NCAA tournament. Early spring matches are against Div. I Georgetown University and 2005 Div. III National Finalist Washington and Lee. Hopefully Amherst can use this match experience to capture another NESCAC Championship and the elusive National Championship.

NESCAC Notes

Amherst's biggest challenge in the NESCAC will be arch rival Williams College. In the fall, Amherst defeated Williams 6-3. Not far behind the Ephs are the Panthers of Middlebury College.