In the opening round of the NESCAC tournament, the Jeffs faced Trinity College. With the rainy weather, the Jeffs were forced to move indoors at Mt. Holyoke College. Due to the lack of courts, the teams played to decision and not competition. Thus, the first team to win five matches would take the team match.
The Jeffs wasted no time getting started and were focused from the beginning as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the doubles. The first doubles team of junior Alicia Menezes and first-year Brittany Berckes continued their fine play with an 8-1 victory. At number two singles senior co-captain Katie Hudson and first-year Jill Wexler blanked their opponents 8-0. After the quick 2-0 lead, juniors Laura Stein and Jen Murphy won 8-3 to complete the doubles sweep.
With the quick 3-0 lead, the Jeffs only needed to win two singles matches to seal the victory. As five of the six Jeffs won their first set, it became a race to see who would win first to clinch the matches. Fastest for the Jeffs were Berckes and Hudson. At number two, Berckes won 6-1, 6-1 and at number five Hudson cruised 6-2, 6-1. The match ended with a 5-0 victory for Amherst, but the rest of the Jeffs appeared they were headed for victory as well. Friday's match served as a warm-up for Amherst; the team knew, however, that the Saturday and Sunday matches were going to be difficult.
On Saturday, the Jeffs had to face a tough Bowdoin squad that had defeated them 6-3 earlier in the year at Bowdoin's indoor courts. However, the nice weather allowed the teams to compete outdoors, in a surface much more conducive to the play of the Jeffs. In the end, it was Amherst who walked with the victory, thrashing Bowdoin 7-2.
Continuing a familiar theme, the Jeffs jumped out to a lead by taking the advantage in the doubles play. Once again Amherst swept the competition, highlighted by a close 9-7 victory by Menezes and Berckes. The duo, which has shined ever since these two have been paired together, has played so tough this year that they have earned the number two seed in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Hudson and Wexler came up with a dominating 8-4 win and Stein and Murphy took care of business in an 8-5 victory.
Both the first and second doubles teams lost the last time these two teams played, but they were able to avenge their losses on Saturday. With the 3-0 lead, the Jeffs had all of the confidence going into the singles. The Jeffs were able to clinch as Menezes, Berckes, Murphy and Stein all won. The closest match of the day was at number one, where Menezes won a super tiebreaker after splitting sets in a 6-4, 3-6, (10-8) victory. Hudson lost in a third set tiebreaker and junior Monica Snyder retired at the third spot after splitting sets to avoid risking injury to her ankle after the team match was already decided.
"We've been working very hard in practice on improving certain doubles plays and it really paid off," said Murphy. "Getting a lead after the doubles in the match allowed us to play singles with so much more confidence. We did not have to try to play from behind like we did last time against them."
After Amherst made it to the finals of the tournament, Williams defeated Middlebury on the opposite courts shortly there after; and so the stage was set for an exciting Amherst-Williams Championship.
"Each individual matchup is so close and intense that the rivalry between the two teams can't get any better," said Stein.
With the weather holding up once again, the match took place outside at the Amherst courts. Once again, as emphasized by Murphy, the Jeffs focused on coming out ahead in the doubles. They did just that, as Menezes and Berckes won easily 8-3 and Stein and Murphy won 8-4 to give the Jeffs a 2-1 lead. The last time these two teams squared off the Jeffs took a 5-4 victory, but were behind 2-1 after the doubles.
Amherst received strong and quick performances from Menezes at the top spot and Stein at the bottom. Stein, who has had her opponent Anne Schneidman's number all year, won in a dominating match 6-0, 6-3. Menezes quickly gained the Jeffs' fourth point with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
With the 4-1 lead, the Jeffs were still far from victory. Berckes, Snyder, Murphy and Hudson all fell down a set, and one would need to come back for the Jeffs to be victorious. Fortunately, Murphy and Berckes were the only players to take the second set. However, Berckes lost the third set just as Murphy split sets 5-7, 6-4. With every other match completed and the team score tied at 4-4, the whole match came down to Murphy's last set.
As Murphy and her opponent, Allison Rottkamp, played each other closely, the score reached a 4-4 tie late in the third set. Facing her opponent's serve, Murphy shook off any pressure and came up with a huge break to take a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve out the match. Murphy gained a quick advantage in the game and jumped out to a 40-15 lead and two match points. After her opponent fought off one point, Murphy's opponent hit a ball deep of the baseline and the Jeffs earned the victory.
With the impressive victory, the Jeffs have now earned the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament, and their goal has correspondingly shifted to winning the team's second National Championship under Head Coach Jackie Bagwell.
"Now we are taking it one match at a time, knowing that we have to win every match from here on out," said Stein. "We want to keep doing the little things right in practice and working as hard as we have been, knowing that the big things will continue to take care of themselves."
After a first-round bye, the Jeffs will host the rounds of 32 and 16. If they advance, the Jeffs will travel to the University of Mary Washington in Virginia to look to take home the school's second National Championship of the year.
NESCAC Notes
The tough conference is sending a total of five teams to the National Tournament. Tufts University, Bowdoin, Middlebury and Williams Colleges all received Pool C Bids. The Middlebury game is the only loss that the Jeffs have not had the chance to avenge, and with the Panthers and Ephs on the opposite side of the bracket, there is potential for an all-NESCAC final.