MEDFORD, MA (March 15, 2025) -- Down after doubles and trailing in much of the singles' matches in the early going against No. 16 Williams College, the No. 14 Tufts University women's tennis mounted a thrilling comeback to stay unbeaten in the spring season with a 4-3 win in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action from Voute Courts at Tufts Tennis Center.
Outside for the first time this spring, the Jumbos (7-0, 2-0 NESCAC) took some time to get into the rhythm as Williams earned the first doubles' match to finish at No. 1 6-2. The Jumbos would get a win at No. 2 doubles as
Rachel Cranley and
Melanie Woodbury topped Ahn Lin and Mia Roets 6-3. The deciding match was at No. 3 as Margaux Molyneux and Mia Thomann of Williams edge
Nikki Kintiroglou and
Ellie Gershaw 6-3 to earn the doubles' point.
Needing to win four of the six singles' matches to pick up the match win, the margin for error was small for the Jumbos. Molyneux would put the Ephs (2-2) up 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 3 singles over
Rachel Cranley 6-4, 6-1, but Tufts got on the board thanks to a straight set win by first-year
Athena Li over Jane Ladaga 6-3, 6-3.
After falling in the first set 6-2, Tufts first-year
Melanie Woodbury rallied back to dominate the second and third sets, evening the match at two with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory over Julia Zhang at No. 2 singles. Tufts' junior
Lucy Mitchell also had to shake off a first-set deficit to rally for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 4 spot to put the Jumbos up for the first time in the match at 3-2.
The last two matches going were at No. 6 and No. 1 with the match on the line, and Williams tied the score at three wins apiece as Roets topped
Natalie Hu 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at the No. 6 spot to set up a thrilling conclusion at No. 1. Gershaw had dropped the first set to Yuu Ishikawa, but came right back with a stellar 6-2 win in the second set to tie things up at the top stop. In the third set, neither player could hold serve until Gershaw won a service game at 4-4 to make it 5-4. In the next game, Ishikawa shook off two match points but the deuce point would go to Gershaw to clinch the victory for Tufts with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win for the junior.
It was Tufts' first win over Williams since March 12, 2023, snapping a three-match losing skid to the Ephs. Tufts has now won four of the last seven meetings with Williams after the Ephs had won 35 straight dating back to 1991. The 7-0 straight in the spring is the best start since 1989, when Tufts was 11-0 on the season.
The Jumbos will now head to Texas for spring break, taking on Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, March 18 at 9:30 local time in non-conference play.
--JUMBOS--
