Finishing 2006 with record of 2-3, Amherst had hoped for more wins in 2007. To rejuvenate for the Interterm slate, the team escaped the cold, albeit snow-free, New England weather for a warmer climate. "We went to San Diego for a week at the beginning of the month to train, which was really fun," said co-captain Caroline Shannon '07. "[There was] nice weather and we were close to the beach."
On Jan. 13, the Jeffs returned to action at the Yale University Invitational with nice tans and an addition to the roster. Libby Martin '08 joined the ranks after spending the fall semester abroad in Paris. Martin entered the ladder in the number three spot, where she left off at the end of the 2005-06 campaign. Shannon and fellow co-captain Emily O'Brien '07 continued to man the top two spots, respectively.
The first match of the Yale Invitational was a 7-2 Amherst victory over Connecticut College. Improving their record to 3-3, the Jeffs seemed to be on the right track. However, 11th-ranked Bowdoin College halted Amherst's first win streak of the season. The Polar Bears reversed the score from earlier in the day, as the Jeffs fell 7-2. Senior Abby Mantica '07, who was bumped to the number four spot due to Martin's return, came up big for Amherst, winning both of her matches. O'Brien was also a double winner. Both O'Brien and Mantica won in straight sets against Conn., but needed five games to outlast their Bowdoin opponents.
The competition didn't get any easier for the 22nd-ranked Jeffs, as their next four matches were against higher-ranked teams. Amherst had consecutive 9-0 losses to Dartmouth College and Brown University, ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Their next match, however, was one the Jeffs would like to play again. "We lost a really close match to Middlebury [College] 6-3 with two five-game matches that just didn't go our way," said Shannon.
The 14th-ranked Polar Bears visited Amherst for the Amherst Invitational. The hard work displayed by everyone down the ladder nearly earned the Jeffs an upset and, more importantly, it gave them confidence heading into the second match of the night. The Jeffs defeated number 12 Colby College with a score of 7-2. "Beating Colby this past weekend was a big win for us," said O'Brien. "I think at this point in the season we've really hit our stride; a number of my teammates had great matches this weekend."
Amherst continued to play well in the second day of the Amherst Invitational. First up on Saturday was 25th-ranked Wellesley College, who the Jeffs dismantled 9-0. In the second match against 18th-ranked William Smith College, Amherst's big guns-Shannon, O'Brien, Martin and Mantica-continued their winning ways. But the Heron's depth showed in the bottom of the ladder, and William Smith claimed victories in the final five spots to defeat Amherst.
The loss to William Smith will not deter the Jeffs. The championship season kicks off with the NESCAC Championships this weekend, and the confidence gained from the Colby upset will be a huge factor in how the Jeffs play. Additional motivation will stem from the opportunity to avenge losses from earlier in the season. "We're going to see some teams we've already played and I really think, especially given the strong play last weekend, that we have a chance to upset some of the teams we've lost to earlier in the season: Middlebury, Bowdoin and the like," said O'Brien. "The matches during the earlier part of the season are kind of a warm-up for the end of season competition, that, I think is what really counts in terms of assessing the success of a season. I think our record right now is kind of deceiving; I think we've all progressed individually in the last month or so, and that is going to become especially apparent in the upcoming weeks."
So without much thought about records and rankings, the Jeffs are hitting their stride and going full speed ahead. "That's what you hope for going into the long stretch at the end of the season where we play a number of tournaments," O'Brien said.
The Jeffs will travel to Trinity College for the NESCAC Tournament this weekend.