Going into the season, the women’s tennis team had three primary goals: beating Williams College, winning the NESCAC Championship and taking home the national title. On Sunday, with a thrilling 5-4 win over Williams in the NESCAC finals, the Jeffs have realized two of those three goals. In fact, the Amherst seniors have now taken home the conference championship all four years. However, this is their last opportunity to finally go all the way, having come so close the last three years and losing in the finals last year. If this weekend’s performance is any indication of things to come, the Jeffs look poised to make a run for the title.
After losing to Williams earlier in the season, the third-ranked Jeffs received a number two seed in the NESCAC Tournament. Therefore, they earned the bye and the right to face Tufts University on Saturday morning in the semifinal round at Middlebury College.
The Jeffs came out with a lot of energy in the doubles matches against Tufts, winning rather easily at the number one and two spots. The defending national doubles champions, senior captain Alicia Menezes and sophomore Brittany Berckes, walked all over their opponents in an 8-2 victory. At number two, sophomore Jill Wexler and first-year Natasha Brown cruised to an 8-4 victory, but unfortunately the number three team of senior captains Laura Stein and Jen Murphy lost a close match by a score of 8-6.
With the 2-1 lead, the Jeffs had the momentum going into the singles play and also allowed the Jeffs to be cautious, as they decided to rest Menezes, who has been struggling with a back injury. Thus, Laken King ’11, senior captain Monica Snyder and Brown moved up to the three, four, and five sports, respectively, and Murphy entered at the lineup at number six.
Berckes led the way at the top spot, earning a 6-4, 7-5 victory against a tough opponent. King and Brown followed suit, as they both cruised over their opponents, each only losing a total of three games. Snyder, after dropping the first set 6-4, came back on fire, winning the final two sets, 6-0, 6-1.
The victory over Tufts set the stage for exactly what the Jeffs wanted: a battle for the NESCAC Championship against their archrival, Williams. The match was even more meaningful, because the Jeffs still had a sour taste and an added weight on their shoulders after having lost to the Ephs in a close 5-4 decision earlier in the season. Additionally, the women’s team had arrived at Middlebury on Friday night just in time to see the decisive match in the men’s thrilling 5-4 victory over the Ephs. Having watched the men succeed, the women wanted to experience the same level of success for themselves. “After the men’s victory against Williams, we were really pumped,” said Berckes.
On Sunday, however, the match did not get off to the start that Amherst was hoping it would. Just like in their previous loss to the Ephs, the Jeffs fell behind 1-2 after the doubles. Only Menezes and Berckes were able to earn a victory, winning rather easily by an 8-3 score. Brown and Wexler fell 8-4 and Stein and Murphy lost 8-6, coincidentally the same scores as their last meeting with the Ephs. The Jeffs knew this deficit did not mean the end of the match, but rather just an obstacle standing in their way. In order to take home the NESCAC title, Amherst’s singles players had to come though; those who beat the Ephs in the teams’ last match had to win again, and one additional Jeff had to grab a win.
Head Coach Jackie Bagwell’s decision to sit Menezes the previous day appeared to pay off, as the rested senior was able to pull off an impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory at third singles. Berckes came through huge, avenging her previous loss to feisty junior Cary Gibson with a smooth 6-2, 6-4 victory.
“I stayed focused the entire time and played smarter, instead of going for winners on every shot,” said Berckes. “I set up the points by moving Cary [Gibson] around until she hit a shot that presented the opportunity for me to come to the net and put the ball away.”
Berckes’ smart play meant that the Jeffs had a victory that they didn’t have in their previous meeting. Unfortunately, Wexler and Snyder lost in straight sets, but at number six, Brown won convincingly, 6-3, 6-1.
Therefore, with the match tied 4-4, everything came down to the number four singles match. With every other match completed, King split her first two sets. The overall match, then, came down to her third set. The first-year came out like a veteran in the third, playing aggressively and intensely. She did not let the pressure affect her at all, as she won the third set, 6-2, giving Amherst the victory and leaving the Ephs sobbing on the court.
“The loss to Williams a few weeks ago really made us realize how badly we want to win and motivated us to work harder in practice and with more intensity,” said Stein. “After the loss we knew we didn’t want to feel that way again, which made us want to win even more, and that determination from everyone came through on Sunday.”
The accomplishments over the weekend now narrow the Jeffs’ focus. At 15-1, all that is left for them to achieve is a National Championship. If they continue to play such fearless and intense tennis, nobody should stand in their way—not even the Ephs.