The Wesleyan women’s tennis team traveled to Tufts on Wednesday, April 17 in hopes of building on their dominant victory over Hamilton. Unfortunately, the 19th-ranked Jumbos took out the Cards in short order, winning all nine matches and dropping only one set. Captain Genevieve Aniello ’13 put up a good fight in her #3 singles match, winning the second set 6-4 after dropping the first 6-1, but she ultimately succumbed in a 10-6 super tiebreak.
Aniello also put up a strong fight in her #1 doubles match with her partner Clare DuBrin ’16, forcing the match to a tiebreak that they dropped 9-8. The other two doubles teams—Grace Smith ’14 and Lauren Jacobs ’15 at #2, and Nicki Softness ’14 and Kiley Robbins ’14 at #3—both lost 8-5. DuBrin lost 6-1, 6-2 at #1 singles, and Smith lost the #2 match 6-3, 6-2.
“We have a few matches still on our schedule against highly nationally ranked teams where we’ll certainly have our hands full,” said Coach Michael Fried. “Those kind of matches will hopefully make us tougher and prepare for the type of competition that we’re lucky enough to have in our conference.”
The loss is a disappointment to the Cards, who played well against Hamilton and hoped that victory could help them kickstart their season. Wesleyan’s record drops to 1-4 in NESCAC play after this most recent result and 3-8 overall. However, it would have been tough for the Cards to return with a victory over a team that is 3-2 in NESCAC play, with their only two losses coming against Amherst and Williams, each of which are ranked in the top three in all of Division III.
Wesleyan will get a break from playing national powerhouses during this weekend’s action. The Cardinals play host to conference foes Colby and Conn College on the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts this Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, respectively. For Fried, these types of opponents serve as more of a litmus test for Wes than teams like Tufts do.
“We also have a few matches where we’ll realistically be able to measure our growth and see just what kind of progress we’re making.”
With just four more matches in the NESCAC, the Cardinals hope that they can build some momentum heading into the final weeks of the season.