The Wesleyan women’s tennis team began its season this past weekend with two non-conference matches against Simmons College and Nichols College.  Traveling to Boston on Saturday, the Cardinals came away with a solid 6-3 victory over Simmons. Building on this momentum, Wesleyan hosted Nichols College the following day and prevailed with a 7-2 victory.

Grace Smith ’14 was a force to be reckoned with in this weekend’s play. Playing at the #2 spot on both days, Smith finished out the weekend undefeated, with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on Saturday and a 6-4, 6-1 victory on Sunday. Joining her in this feat was  Lauren Jacobs ’15 at the #4 singles spot, winning her match on Saturday 6-3, 7-5 and on Sunday 6-2, 6-2. The pair also teamed up to play in the #2 doubles spot both days, winning the set on Saturday 9-7 and shutting out their opponents on Sunday 8-0. Hannah Berkman ’12 was also a vital contributor this weekend. The co-captain won both her matches, with a score of 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday and 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday. She teamed up with Kaitlyn Clark ’14 for the #3 doubles spot, winning the match on Saturday 8-2 but losing a hard-fought match on Sunday 6-8.

The Cardinals play next at Williams College on Saturday to face the rival Ephs. The Williams team has four consecutive Division III NCAA titles to its name so the Cardinals will need to focus as they prepare this week.