Wellesley Edges Tufts, 5-4, in Marathon Match
WILLIAMSTOWN — In the most competitive match of the Williamstown regional thus far, eighth-ranked Wellesley and 13th-ranked Tufts grinded it out in a four-hour marathon tennis match on Saturday that saw the Blue Pride claw from behind to take the match, 5-4."This was a mentally and emotionally tough win given our history with Tufts," said Wellesley head coach Christine Franek. "We just had the desire today more than ever before."
The Blue Pride had defeated Tufts earlier in the season, 7-2, and the Jumbos seemed to surprise everyone when they took an early lead. In doubles,
Wellesley won with ease at court one while Tufts took the match at court three.
At court, the Tufts pair of Erica Miller and Meghan McCooey rose to the
occasion and came out on top in a tight 9-7 result.
Play had only just begun as more drama was to unfold throughout the match. In singles play, Tufts came out firing. McCooey dominated in a 6-0, 6-1 showing at court two to up the Jumbos lead to 3-1. At court four, Wellesley’s Trish Devine narrowed the gap by defeating her opponent, 6-0, 6-3.
At court one, Jenna Mezin and Julia Browne dueled in a battle of wills. Browne took the first set 6-3, while Wellesley's Mezin appeared visibly frustrated with her play. Early in the second set, it appeared as though Mezin had mentally composed herself and mounted a 4-1 lead. Browne stormed from behind with a vengeance, rattling off five straight games to take the second set, 6-4, and the match to give Tufts a 4-2 lead.
Only one loss away from seeing a spot in regional final slip away, the bottom of Wellesley's lineup took the match into their own hands. At court three, Meghan Stubblebine outlasted Tufts' Erica Miller in a three set battle, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
Minutes later, Wellesley took the match at court five to knot the score at
4-4.
The fate of each team lay in their players at court six, but Wellesley’s
Jacqueline Shen was in the drivers seat and quickly defeated her opponent, 6-3, 6-2, to give her squad the chance to play Williams tomorrow at noon.
"We [Wellesley] responded well to the pressure," said Franek. "All season
long we have worked on making more progress with every match, and today was another step forward for us."
Tufts finishes the season with a 12-7 record, while Wellesley ups their overall record to 20-4.
Wellesley 5, Tufts 4
Doubles:
- Jenna Mezin/Hali Walther (W) def. Andrea Cenko/Mari Homma (T); 8-3
- Erica Miller/Meghan McCooey (T) def. Jen Schworkopt/Trish Devine (W); 9-7
- Julia Browne/Edwina Steward (T) def. Shivani Saxena/Jacqueline Shen (W); 8-3
Singles:
- Browne (T) def. Mezine (W); 6-3, 6-4
- McCooey (T) def. Schwarzkopt (W); 6-0, 6-1
- Meghan Stubblebine (W) def. Miller (T); 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
- Devine (W) def. Cenko (T); 6-0, 6-3
- Saxena (W) def. Homma (T); 6-4, 6-2
- Shen (W) def. Stewart (T); 6-3, 6-2
