After a strong showing against the Hamilton Continentals last weekend, the women’s tennis team struggled to maintain its success, as the team fell beneath the rampant feet of the Tufts Jumbos on Wednesday afternoon. The Cards suffered a tough 9-0 loss, but still hold an impressive 9-2 record on the year.

Wesleyan started off a bit shaky heading into the doubles rounds, as the number-one pair, Anika Fischer ’10 and Sarah Miller ’12, took on Tufts’ two nationally ranked players, junior Julia Browne and senior Megan McCoey. Fischer and Miller put up a good fight, as they battled through every game, but were unable to pull through and finished with a 1-8 loss. The number-two duo, Genevieve Aniello ’13 and Linda McDougal ’11, also found a formidable opponent in the Jumbos as they were defeated with a final score of 4-8. Taylor Morales ’13 teamed up with Casey Simchik ’10 for a hard-fought match in the No. 3 spot. The tandem battled until the very end, but unfortunately fell short to the Jumbos and finished the match with a final score of 7-9. Morales had an especially impressive showing, as this was her first time starting this season.

Moving into the singles rounds, the Cards continued to fight the uphill battle against the Jumbos, but were unable to come away with any wins. Playing number one for Wesleyan, Fischer once again faced off against the nationally ranked Browne and fell by a 1-6, 0-6 count. At No. 2, Miller also fiercely competed but was unable to come away with a win and took home a 2-6, 0-6 defeat. Playing at the third spot, Aniello played a challenging match, but could not finish on top and ended with a 1-6, 0-6 loss. In the number-four spot, Meredith Holmes ’10 worked hard throughout both sets, but was ultimately unsuccessful and finished with a final score of 0-6, 0-6. Holding down the No. 5 spot, McDougal had the Cards’ best showing in singles action on the afternoon, but could not hold on until the end and ultimately fell 3-6, 2-6 loss. Simchik closed out the difficult day for the Cards at the number six spot, with another tough 0-6, 1-6 loss.

Even after this second unfavorable loss of the season, the Cardinals remain optimistic heading into their next couple of mid-season matches. The squad is already fired up and looking forward to redeeming themselves as they take on the Middlebury Panthers in front of their home crowd at the Wesleyan courts on Saturday.