WHITTIER, Calif. – The Tufts University women's tennis team earned the program's first victory over Williams College since 1991 on Friday afternoon with a 5-4 win over the Ephs in California.
The win ended Tufts' 35-match losing streak against the Ephs dating back to 1991 when the Jumbos defeated Williams 5-4. The Eph program has won 10 NCAA championships, most recently in 2017. Williams is also a nine-time NESCAC champion who have won the past four league titles.The eighth-ranked Jumbos won two out of three in doubles against the #5 Ephs and then clinched the victory by winning the first three singles matches to finish. Tufts improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in NESCAC. Williams dropped to 2-3 and 0-1.
Doubles included an 8-3 win by Tufts' #1 pair of freshmen Maggie Dorr and Caroline Garrido over a Wililams duo of senior Leah Bush and junor Chloe Henderson who were ranked eighth nationally at the end of the fall season. Williams had taken a 1-0 lead in doubles with an 8-2 #2 victory by senior Korina Neveux and junior Emily Zheng. However, Tufts also won on the third doubles court with junior Kat Wiley and freshman Anna Lowy earning an 8-6 final.
Freshman Nicole Frankel then had a quick 6-4, 6-2 win in sixth singles to put Tufts up 3-1. That was followed by a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win at #2 by senior Tomo Iwasaki putting Tufts on the verge of victory. Sophomore Patricia Obeid won the clincher 6-3, 6-1 in third singles.
Williams won the final three matches to make the final margin 5-4. All three of those went three sets. At #1, Williams' Bush won 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 versus Dorr. Freshman Eph Julia Pham posted a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win against Wiley at fifth singles. Fourth singles was finished with a super tie-breaker won by Zheng over Garrido 6-3, 2-6, 10-2.
The Jumbos return to action tomorrow at fourth-ranked Pomona-Pitzer. The Ephs play at #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tomorrow.
