The victory was a complete team effort, as all members of the starting lineup won at least one match. The Jeffs got off to a quick lead, winning two of the three doubles matches. At first doubles, the undefeated and ITA New England doubles champion duo of junior Alicia Menezes and first-year Brittany Berckes battled to an 8-6 victory. The match was close early on, but the Amherst pair turned up the aggression late and took control of the match. At third doubles, juniors Laura Stein and Jen Murphy won by a convincing score of 8-4.
"Laura and I have developed great chemistry," said Murphy. "Our games complement each other very well and we are always on the same page. We are excited to compete this weekend."
At second doubles, junior Monica Snyder and senior Kate Hudson lost to a tough Williams team, 8-1. Although the duo had trouble getting things going, the match was played closer than the score indicates.
The singles matches provided the most entertainment, as Amherst displayed amazing mental toughness, winning five of six close matches. In what was the only decisive match, at number three singles Murphy easily handled Annie Hancock (6-2, 6-2). Murphy let her opponent make the mistakes.
Number one player Alicia Menezes had the toughest task, taking on ITA New England singles champion Cary Gibson. Menezes came out strong and won the first set 6-2. However, Gibson proved to be too much and won the next two sets, 6-2 and 6-3. The loss was not too damaging to the team results as Menezes' teammates had her back.
At second singles, Berckes played a tremendous match and showed resilience en route to a victory after falling behind one set (4-6, 7-6, 7-5). In the number three spot, Monica Snyder also went to three sets, and despite a short lapse in the second set, won in convincing fashion (6-3, 1-6, 6-1). Katie Hudson and Laura Stein played very similar matches, winning in close straight sets. Hudson won at the fifth spot (7-6, 6-4), and at the sixth spot Stein won, (7-5, 7-5).
"Overall, we were just too tough in the close matches," said Menezes. "We kicked butt, and pretty much dominated them in every way."
Although the Jeffs may have won their biggest match of the fall, they still have their sights on the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament which will be played at Amherst this weekend.
NESCAC Notes
Amherst has proved to be the top team in the NESCAC this fall, with Williams and Middlebury behind them. Look for Menezes, Gibson and Middlebury's Amy Roche to compete for the singles title this weekend. Menezes and Berckes will enter the tournament as the top doubles seed.