Panthers fall to pair of NESCAC competitors

All good things must come to an end. After enjoying a 12-1 run to open its season, including a 4-0 record in NESCAC play, the 15th-ranked women’s tennis team dropped two straight matches this week against perennial conference rivals Williams and Tufts.

The week started on Wednesday in Williamstown, Mass. as the Panthers travelled to take on a powerhouse opponent in second-ranked Williams College. Williams has only lost two matches this season: the first to first-ranked Amherst and the second to a Division I opponent in James Madison.

Williams defeated Middlebury in dominating fashion. Led by 11th-ranked singles player Grace Baljon, who took down Middlebury ace Victoria Aiello ’12 in straight sets, the rivals from Williamstown went 7-2 in overall match play. Williams took all six singles matches and one of three doubles matches. Number four Middlebury singles player Jamie Haar forced her match to a third set, but was overpowered by Williams opponent Lucy Marchese for the loss.

The team can be happy with its doubles performance, outscoring Williams 20-16 in overall games, but the overall result shows that a possible rematch against Williams in the NESCAC tournament will be a challenge.

“Williams went into singles play down 2-1, the first time this year I believe,” said Alyssa Puccinelli ’12. She went on to add that the team is keeping its head high despite the loss. “We arrived at Williams confident in our playing abilities and left just as confident.”

Middlebury then hosted 17th-ranked Tufts University on a sunny Saturday afternoon on the Proctor tennis courts. The Jumbos have had success in NESCAC play this year, entering Saturday’s action with a 5-2 record, and have lost only to first- and second-ranked Amherst and Williams. The Panthers could do nothing to stop the Jumbos, falling 6-3 in match play, setting their overall record on the season back to 12-3.

Middlebury’s Alexandra McAtee ’13 earned the Panthers only singles win of the weekend, beating 32nd-ranked singles player Meghan McCooey from Tufts in straight sets. Otherwise, the results were similar to Wednesday’s defeat: the team lost the other five singles matches but was able to secure two of three doubles wins.

An important point for the Panthers as they head into their final week of the regular season, with a tough match-up against the Div.-III national leader and NESCAC rival Amherst this Saturday, will be the struggle of their singles play. With only one win in 12 singles matches last week, the team’s play leaves much to be desired. Furthermore, Amherst has lost only once since mid-March in a close match against Williams. The team will need to find its game if it wants to be confident heading into NESCAC tournament play.

“It is always difficult to lose two straight matches, but we are keeping our heads high,” said Puccinelli. “Our match against number one Williams was closer than the 7-2 score, and our match against Tufts could have gone either way as there were many tie-breakers. We enjoy playing the more challenging teams and are interested to see how we match up against Amherst.”