Amherst tennis continues to serve up its top game, even as the spring season starts to draw to a close. The women pulled off an impressive upset against Williams College (5-4), avenging their only loss of the season and proving that they have the talent to beat the top-ranked team in Div. III. The men finished the weekend as a triple threat. They toppled Trinity College (7-2) to defend their perfect NESCAC record. The Jeffs also went on to post 8-1 victories over Babson College and Bowdoin College.

Women

On Saturday’s match against the Ephs, the Jeffs demonstrated that ranking is just a number. Currently ranked sixth nationally, Amherst took down top-ranked Williams in a thrilling 5-4 victory. The Jeffs gained a 2-1 lead in doubles to start the match. Jill Wexler ’10 and Laura Danzig’12 earned a solid win with a score of 8-3 in the third doubles match, while senior tri-captain Anuja Ankola and Amelia Bell ’11 suffered a loss at the No. 2 spot. Junior Brittany Berckes and Natasha Brown ’11 provided the crucial win at No. 1 doubles for the Jeffs. In a closely contested match, the top doubles pair for Amherst rallied fiercely to take Cary Gibson and Nicole Reich of Williams to a tiebreaker. The Amherst duo was able to fend off their opponents’ shots to claim a 9-8 (9-7) victory.

Alison Swain, the Williams’ head coach acknowledged, “Amherst rises to the challenge every time we play them . . . It was tough to go down 2-1 in doubles, and then Amherst really brought their best in singles play.”

Eager to maintain their advantage from doubles, the Jeffs’ singles players stepped up their level of competition. Sophomore Laken King — playing at the No. 5 spot — posted the first win in singles, trouncing Ashley Parsons of Williams at lightning speed in straight sets (6-0, 6-1). At No. 4 singles, Brown also contributed to the Jeffs’ score by beating her opponent 6-1, 7-6 (7-2). Carlissa King ’11 clinched the victory for Amherst in a tough match as the No. 2 singles player for the Jeffs. King came back from dropping her second set to outlast the Ephs’ Nicole Reich (6-1, 4-6, 6-2).

With their hard-fought win, the Jeffs crushed the Ephs’ hopes for an undefeated season. The women were also able to improve their overall record to 14-1 (NESCAC 5-0).

“I thought the win was a huge victory for us,” said Anuja Ankola. “I know that everyone on the team went out there with such confidence and full hearts. We worked very hard in the days leading up to the match and it felt really good for our hard work to pay off!”

Having defeated the top-ranked school in Div. III, the Jeffs will have much more confidence heading into the NESCAC and NCAA championships.

“Our win against Williams definitely makes us frontrunners for a national title,” said Laken King ’11. “However, we still have a long road ahead of us, and we can possibly play them two more times, so there’s absolutely no room for complacency.”

Men

Despite their action-packed schedule, the men posted three victories over the weekend. They defeated NESCAC rival Trinity 7-2 on Saturday and extended their winning streak to earn double 8-1 victories against Babson and Bowdoin College on Sunday.

Against Trinity, sophomore Priit Gross and Austin Chafetz ’12 finished off their competition without yielding a single game at No. 2 doubles. Senior captain Zach Lerner and Moritz Koenig ’11 — the top doubles pair for Amherst — also picked up a solid 8-3 win. The Jeffs’ singles then proceeded to overwhelm the Bantams. Amherst tallied five singles victories out of six matches, with Lerner making a comeback after the first set to win at the top of the singles ladder.

As a testament to the team’s depth, the Jeffs were able to top Babson 8-1 without some of their top players competing. With the exception of Robert Abbey ’12 at the No. 6 spot, Amherst was able to finish its singles matches effortlessly in straight sets. After dropping the first set 4-6, Abbey did not relinquish a single game in the second and eventually defeated Babson’s Moises Numa in three sets. The Jeffs’ lone loss of the match came from a narrow-margin loss at No. 2 doubles. Sophomores Alex Gumport and Max Gumport could not gain the edge in the tiebreak and suffered a 9-8 (7-5) defeat.

The other half of the men’s squad competed against Bowdoin College on Sunday. Doubles had an impressive day, going 3-0 versus the Polar Bears. Singles likewise built up a winning momentum, with Gross narrowly missing out on winning his match at the No. 5 spot.

With their three victories, the men improve their record to 23-4 (6-0 NESCAC) and head into the last weeks of the season with confidence.