WILLIAMSTOWN,
MA. – Williams women's tennis (11-1, 2-1)
perfect season came to an end this afternoon, as the Ephs suffered
their first loss of the year against archrival Amherst (13-1, 5-0),
5-4. The sixth-ranked
Lord Jeffs had upset on their minds heading into the Purple Valley,
and succeeded in dethroning the number-one ranked Ephs.
“Amherst rises to the challenge every
time we play them,” commented Williams' head coach
Alison Swain.
“They did that today. It was tough to go
down 2-1 in doubles, and then Amherst really brought their best in
singles play.”
While the two teams split wins at courts two
and three, a nail biter at court one left the Ephs in the 2-1
hole. Cary Gibson and
Nikki Reich fought Natasha Brown and Brittany Berckes to a
tiebreak, and traded point for point before the Amherst duo pulled
out the 9-7 advantage for a lead heading into singles play.
That doubles point proved to be a critical
win, as Amherst and Williams split the singles matches, three
apiece. Ashley
Parsons fell quickly in a 6-0, 6-1 loss at court five, while
Kristin Alotta grabbed a short-lived lead for the Ephs with a 6-3,
6-2 win at court three. Amherst tied the match
up at 3-3 after Lucy Marchese, appearing in her first match since a
season-ending knee injury last year, couldn't extend her
match in a second set tiebreak loss. Despite
Marchese's loss, she will be a key contributor in the future.
“Lucy's knee is on the
comeback,” said Swain, “It's
great to have her in the lineup again.”
Amherst iced the win after Nikki Reich
suffered her first singles loss of the season, falling to Carlissa
King in three sets.
Baljon and Hancock would tally wins to bring the final match score
to 5-4.
“This loss will better prepare us for
teams in the future, and that's a good thing,”
continued Swain.
The Ephs will have to rebound quickly, as a
doubleheader awaits them tomorrow, against Bowdoin at 9:00 a.m. and
Colby at 2:00 p.m.
Amherst 5,
Williams 4
Doubles-
1)
Natasha Brown/Brittany Berckes (A) def. Cary Gibson/Nikki Reich (W)
--- 9-8(7)
2)
Taylor French/Grace Baljon (W) def. Amelia Bell/Anuja Ankola (A)
--- 8-3
3)
Jill Wexler/Laura Danzig (A) def. Kristin Alotta/Genny Loomis (W)
--- 8-3
Singles-
1)
Baljon (W) def. Berckes (A) --- 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2)
Carlissa King (A) def. Reich (W) --- 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
3)
Alotta (W) def. Wexler (A) --- 6-3, 6-2
4)
Brown (A) def. Lucy Marchese (W) --- 6-1, 7-6(3)
5)
Laken King (A) def. Ashley Parsons (W) --- 6-0, 6-1
6)
Annie Hancock (W) def. Bell (A) --- 6-7(5), 7-5 (10-7)
