In first-round play they confronted Tufts University with a ferocious vengeance brought on by the upsetting memory of a loss earlier this season. Bringing only seven players, Tufts was forced to default the number eight and nine matches. It looked like Amherst would have the Jumbos number regardless, as the Jeffs easily won the match 9-0.
"I think the Tufts victory was really great because we lost to them earlier in the season, 7-2, and beat them 9-0 this time, demonstrating that we've improved a lot," said co-captain Caroline Shannon '07. "Hopefully that will move us up in the rankings for the national tournament which is in two weeks."
Libby Martin '08, at the third spot, won her fifth straight match and has played strong all year. At the bottom of the lineup, Di Kirkwood '08 and Melissa Moutlon '09 at the sixth and seven spots, respectively, each only lost one point in the match. Shannon, at the top spot, was the only Jeff to lose a game. After dopping the first game 6-9, Shannon came back strong and won 9-6, 9-1, 9-4.
Amherst knew that they would need more dominant play against the top seed, Trinity, the following day in the quarterfinal round.
Unfortunately, the Jeffs fell 9-0 to perennial powerhouse Trinity. "It's hard to play any team in their home court, much less a team of Trinity's caliber," Heather Nowak '08 commented. "While many teams are daunted by a program like Trinity's, we remained strong and positive."
Trinity has remained ranked in the top three consistently this season. "We all played well and Emery Sweeney '07 even managed to win a game off them, which is great," added Nowak.
In the third round later that day, the Jeffs conceded a fifth-place finish to Middlebury College, losing 6-3 in a closely played match. "We played Middlebury earlier in the season and also lost to them 6-3, but I felt good about the match," said Shannon. "We had a lot of hard fights there, and everyone improved from the last time we played them. I got a game off my player this time and I think if we see them again this season, we could beat them."
After dropping the match to Middlebury, the Jeffs were left to compete for a seventh-place position against Hamilton College. Shannon won her match at number one in four games. Co-captain Emily O'Brien '07 went down 2-0 but proved resilient and came back to win in five games. Martin and Abby Mantica '07 both won easily in their respective positions of three and four. Despite these stunning performances, the match resulted in a 5-4 loss for Amherst, maintaining the number eight position they held prior to the NESCAC Tournament.
"Yesterday everyone played really well, we won the top four spots but we just couldn't turn around to win," said Shannon. "That was the first time we played Hamilton since I have been here and it was good to see a new team. Everyone should feel good about how close that was. We're bringing all of our momentum into the last two weeks of the season and I know it will be really great."
Late last night, Amherst traveled to nearby Mt. Holyoke College. Facing a tough 16th-ranked squad, the Jeffs fell by a 8-1 score. Martin won the lone match for the Jeffs at the thrid spot, 3-0 (9-2, 9-7, 9-2). The win is Martin's fourth straight after falling to Trinity in the quarter-final match.
The Jeffs will participate in the Little Three Championship this weekend at Williams College before the National Tournament (Howe Cup) next weekend at Yale University.