Despite the light fall schedule, the Jeffs have dominated the competition, receiving help from both the usual crowd and rookies. In two individual tournaments the Jeffs have achieved great success, but the most satisfying part of the fall was the team's 5-4 victory over Williams College.
The Jeffs opened the fall play with a strong showing at the Div. III ITA New England Regional Championships at MIT on the weekend of September 21-23. For the second straight year captain Alicia Menezes '07 and Brittany Berckes '10 were the story of the tournament for the Jeffs.
Not unusually, the duo stole the show in the doubles tournament, winning the championship once again and earning All-American honors. Seeded number one, the Jeffs cruised in their opening round, winning 8-1. However, in the second round the duo had quite a battle against the Raymond sisters of Bowdoin College, winning 9-8 (7-3). After the close match, Berckes and Menezes pounded the number one team from Middlebury College, 8-1.
In the semifinals, it appeared as though the duo's run would come to an end, as they quickly fell behind 6-1 to the third-seeded Williams team. However, Berckes and Menezes picked up the intensity and took the Williams pair by storm, winning the next seven games for an 8-6 victory. With the momentum of their win, the reigning National Champions defeated another Williams team 8-6 in the finals for their second consecutive ITA doubles victory.
In the singles, all six players won their opening round match in straight sets and in the quarterfinals four of the Jeffs represented the final eight players. First-year Carlissa King fell in the second round and her sister Laken King '11 lost in the round of 16 after winning her first two matches.
In the quarterfinals Menezes was matched against teammate and fellow senior captain Monica Snyder. The two Jeffs played a close match, with Menezes coming out on top 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. First-year Natasha Brown and Berckes both lost close three-set matches, as Berckes fell 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to eventual champion Cary Gibson of Williams College. Menezes, the sole Jeff in the semifinals, fell to Grace Baljon of Williams 6-1, 6-2. Despite no champion or finalist in the singles draw, the Jeffs still made a huge splash in the tournament, sending four to the quarterfinals and receiving strong performances from three first-year players.
On the weekend of September 29-30 the Jeffs played in a round-robin style tournament against three Div. I squads: Hofstra, Radford and Fairfield Universities. Despite being the only Div. III team, the Jeffs were not scared by the competition. Overall, after the Saturday and Sunday play, the Jeffs finished a combined 33-3 in singles and doubles play. With the singles lineup pretty much set, the Jeffs wanted to use the weekend as an opportunity to test their doubles teams.
"We have really been focusing in on doubles, particularly our court positioning and communication on the court," said senior captain Jen Murphy. "It has been great to see the [first-years] learn and improve in our drills so quickly."
Murphy, however, is still playing with her long-time partner, senior captain Laura Stein. The duo had a great weekend at the three spot, winning all three matches, two of which were in very convincing fashion, 8-0 and 8-1.
Another doubles team that certainly won't be broken up this year, the first team duo of Menezes and Berckes, also won all three of their matches.
At the second doubles spot, first-year Natasha Brown and sophomore Jill Wexler made a strong case for a regular lineup spot with three solid victories. "Natasha and Jill were very focused on the court," said Stein. "And when they bring the intensity, they won't be defeated."
The strong play was very encouraging for the Jeffs going into the Williams match on Oct. 6. Traveling to Williamstown, Mass. on the Saturday of Fall Break, the Jeffs knew that they would have to fight hard for every point.
"Going into the match we knew that we needed to jump out to a lead by taking the at least two of the doubles points," said Menezes. "It's much easier to play knowing you have the lead and that the team doesn't need to come from behind."
The Jeffs came out on fire in doubles, sweeping the three doubles matches. The teams of Berckes and Menezes and Brown and Wexler both won 8-6 and Stein and Murphy won 8-5.
With the 3-0 lead, it appeared as though the Jeffs were going to topple the Ephs in a decisive victory. However, the Williams squad came out on fire in the singles play and the match quickly became close. The Jeffs' second and third players, Berckes and Laken King fell in straight sets.
However, two first-years would step up to save the day. At the sixth spot Carlissa King won in the most convincing fashion of anybody, 6-2, 6-2 to give the Jeffs their fourth point.
With three players left on the court, the Jeffs needed to secure just one final point. Natasha Brown rose to the occasion, acing her opponent on match point to win 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). The victory secured the win and was essential as both Menezes and Snyder lost three-set matches.
The Jeffs were ecstatic to leave Williams with a 5-4 victory. However, they still have some business to finish as they conclude the season with the New England Championships starting this Friday, here at the Amherst courts.