AMHERST – The #6-ranked Tufts University women's tennis team fell just short to #9-ranked Amherst College 5-4 in Sunday's NCAA Championship Regional Final at Amherst.
The loss ends the Jumbos' team schedule with an overall record of 17-4, while the Mammoths (13-8) advance to the NCAA "Elite Eight" held in Orlando, Florida starting on Monday, May 23.
Tufts dropped two of three doubles matches to begin the day, as the Amherst team of Anya Ramras and Amy Cui earned a hard-fought 8-7 win over Maggie Dorr and Caroline Garrido in the #2 match, while Julia Lendel and Calista Sha defeated Nicki Frankel and Rebecca Lim 8-5 in the #3 doubles match. Tufts' Elle Christensen and Tilly Rigby earned an 8-3 victory in the #1 doubles match to bring it to singles play with a 2-1 score in favor of the Mammoths.
Tufts picked up victories in the #1 and #2 spots, as well as the #4 spot, but fell to Amherst in the third and sixth matches, which set up a dramatic fifth singles contest.
Christensen had defeated Cui in the first singles spot 6-4, 6-4, and Zoe Kava earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lendel in the #2 match. Amherst's Deliala Friedman got the win in the third singles spot over Frankel 6-3, 6-2, while Casey Cummings gave Tufts another victory in the #4 match 6-2, 6-3. Tufts dropped the #6 singles matche as Ramras defeated Dorr 6-3, 6-1.
With the match coming down to #5, Mia Kintiroglou of Amherst defeated Lim in three competitive sets 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 to give Amherst the victory.
Christensen, the freshman, was selected to compete in both the singles and doubles competition of the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships from May 27-29 in Orlando. She will compete in doubles alongside junior Tilly Rigby.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
