After a promising win on the road against Nichols College to open the fall season, Wesleyan women’s tennis looked to take another step forward on Friday, Sept. 14 when it hosted Babson in its first home encounter. History was on the Cardinals’ side heading into the match, as they held a 3-1 all-time advantage over Babson and won last season’s fixture by a convincing 7-2 margin. However, on this occasion Babson exacted revenge with an even more lopsided score of 8-1. Jessica Seidman ’16 was Wesleyan’s sole victor of the day, taking her match 6-2, 7-5.
Yet the Cards refused to be deterred and bounced back two days later, performing well on Sunday, Sept. 16 in the annual Connecticut College Tournament. In a field of four teams featuring Conn, Oneonta State, and Endicott, Wesleyan had five undefeated performers.
The Tournament layout had each college enter two individuals in each of four singles flights and two doubles flights, with each flight organized by ranking. In Flight A, Genevieve Aniello ’13 went 3-0, while in Flight B, Seidman and Lauren Jacobs ’15 both went 2-0 and were declared joint winners, instead of having to play each other for that title. In doubles, the tandem of Jacobs and Madison Hartley ’13 went 3-0 in Flight A, while Suzanne Gallo ’13 and Seidman also pulled out a 3-0 record in Flight B. The Cards’ overall outstanding results will put the team in good stead for the annual ITA regional tournament Sept. 28-30 at MIT.
As has been stressed repeatedly by head coach Michael Fried, this season is as much about building as it is about results. With very few games to be played in the fall—Babson was the team’s final dual-match opponent until the spring—learning and improving in the fall season is ultimately more important than the final standings. Thus, it is critical to look at the positives of any defeat, and this weekend, one does not have to look far. The outstanding resolve the team showed to recover so convincingly from the Babson game will buoy both Fried and assistant coach Robert Troyer, given what it reveals about the mental fortitude of this group of players. Furthermore, Seidman has had a tremendous start to her rookie season and is currently undefeated in singles.
It would be naïve to suggest that the team is anywhere near full strength at the moment, given that four strong members of the squad are currently abroad, but the team’s spirit in their absence will certainly go some way toward allaying fears that the squad will be uncompetitive over the next month.