While the men’s tennis team will wait one more week to begin their season, the women’s team is already well on their way to a successful fall. On Friday, the women’s tennis team started off their season by sending a part of their squad to Cambridge, Mass., for the three-day Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s New England regional championships.
At the tournament, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, senior quad-captain Brittany Berckes led the team by advancing to the semi-final rounds in both singles and doubles. As a singles No. 4 seed, Berckes fought through the 64-player tournament by advancing past players from Vassar College, Bates College, Bowdoin College and Tufts University in straight sets, but eventually falling to tournament champion Kristen Alotta from Williams College, 6-3, 6-3.
Head coach Jackie Bagwell was pleased with her captain’s play over the weekend. “I was really impressed with the match she lost to Alotta from Williams,” said Bagwell.
She went on to say that Berckes lacked patience in the first set but emphasized the change later in the match. “Brittany turned this around in the second set and really had the other player on the defensive again.”
Bagwell further expressed how close the match was. “It came down to a few missed overheads and high volleys that were tough on a clear blue sunny day.”
With Williams dominating much of the top 16 seeds, senior quad-captain Jill Wexler would also fall to the Ephs, but against tournament No. 2 seed Grace Baljon. The Williams matches proved especially stinging, as the Jeffs lost to the Ephs in the final round of the National Championship tournament in May.
Against Baljon in the Round of 16, Wexler tried to counter with an impressive second set, but eventually would lose 6-1, 7-2 after winning her first two matches of the weekend.
Berckes would pair up with sophomore Laura Danzig in doubles where three consecutive 8-2 decisive victories put them in the semi-finals against the top-seeded Tufts pair. Facing Meghan MacCooey and Julia Browne, the Amherst duo would put up a strong fight, but would end their run with an 8-5 loss. Tufts’ MacCooey and Browne would eventually go on to win the doubles tournament in the final over a Williams pair.
Berckes’ usual doubles partner, Natasha Brown ’11, is studying abroad this semester, but Laura Danzig ’12 is proving to be a good fit as well, explains Bagwell.
“Brittany and Laura have good chemistry on and off the court. I was impressed with their communication and ability to set each other up on the court. I really feel they will be a great team when they get a few more matches under their belt,” said Bagwell.
The other two Amherst doubles teams would start the 32-team tournament with first-round losses, but enjoyed success in the consolation bracket, as they would face off against each other in the semi-finals. Eventually, the senior team of Anuja Ankola and Jennifer Ouyang would beat the pair of Wexler and first-year Caroline Richman, 8-1.
The multiple matches against Williams opponents will prove helpful as the nationally second-ranked Amherst team travels to Williamstown to face the first-ranked rival Ephs on Saturday, Oct. 3.
While the women were running on the court over the weekend, the men’s team could be seen Friday afternoon running sprints up Memorial Hill in preparation for their own ITA Tournament at Williams this weekend.