The women’s tennis team kicked off the spring season in fine fashion, winning all five of their matches in California. The Jeffs dominated the competition, losing just six individual matches and earning team victories over two top-10 squads.
The two most important matches of the week were against 10th-ranked University of Redlands and sixth-ranked Pomona-Pitzer. Playing against Pomona-Pitzer last Monday, the Jeffs set the tone early by taking two of the three doubles matches. At the second doubles, the team of first-year Natasha Brown and sophomore Jill Wexler defeated their opponents in a close 9-7 match. At the three spot, the strong seniors team of Jen Murphy and Laura Stein won convincingly 8-1. At the top spot, the defending national doubles champions, sophomore Brittany Berckes and senior Alicia Menezes, lost 8-6.
In the singles, despite two losses at the top, the bottom of the lineup took care of business for the Jeffs. At the three, four, five and six spots, Laken King ’11, Brown, Carlissa King ’11 and Charlotte Willinsky ’11, respectively, all earned victories.
In the second big match of the week, against Redlands last Thursday, the Jeffs earned a 9-0 sweep. Head Coach Jackie Bagwell decided to rest Menezes, last year’s top singles player, due to her injured back. Menezes continued to play doubles, but sophomore Jill Wexler entered the starting lineup at the number-one singles position and defeated her Redlands opponent 7-5, 7-6 (7-1). As a team, the Jeffs dropped only one set against their 10th ranked opponent.
To conclude the Spring Break trip, Amherst defeated Claremont by a convincing 8-1 score. Once again, the Jeffs came out strong in the doubles, setting the tone with 8-5, 8-4 and 8-2 victories at the one, two and three spots, respectively. In the singles, the Jeffs welcomed the return of Menezes, who entered the lineup at the three spot, winning 6-1, 6-4.
In all five matches over the break, the Jeffs never had to come from behind, thanks to the strong doubles play. With a lead going into the singles every match, there is much less pressure and sense of urgency in the singles play.
“Our doubles play was very strong,” said Murphy. “It will continue to be exceedingly important throughout the rest of the season.”
Over the course of the week, the Jeffs saw contributions from several players. Although the doubles lineup is pretty much set in stone, and looks to be one of the toughest in the nation, there was a lot of movement throughout the singles lineup over the course of the week. In all, nine different players were called on to fill the six singles spots.
“We showed just how deep we are with consistent play throughout the lineup all week,” said Menezes. “A lot of different people stepped up and played well for us, demonstrating just how strong this team is from top to bottom.”
Having dominated the competition in California, the Jeffs will now have to focus on the upcoming and important conference matches. Amherst’s toughest matches this season could end up being right here in the NESCAC, against powerhouses like Williams and Middlebury Colleges. First, the Jeffs will turn their attention to Wesleyan University, as they travel to take on the Cardinals tomorrow at 4 p.m.