No. 5 Wesleyan Bests Jumbo Women's Tennis Saturday

MEDFORD, MA (April 12, 2025) - On a day dedicated to more than just competition, Tufts University hosted Team IMPACT Awareness Day, celebrating the powerful bond between college athletes and children facing serious illness and disability.

After a dominant 7-0 yesterday against No. 58 Trinity College and improving to a record of 12-3, the No. 11 Tufts University women's tennis team took on the No. 5 Wesleyan Cardinals in front of a packed Gantcher crowd but couldn't earn the win in falling 6-1 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action. 

It was a tough start for the Jumbos at doubles No. 1 as Natalie Hu and Stephanie Woodbury fell 6-1 to Sarah Youngberg and Lane Durkin in a match that was much closer than the score reflected. After Wesleyan broke serve to go up 2-1, they rallied off another four straight games to seal the match. At No. 3 doubles, Melanie Woodbury and Lucy Mitchell narrowly fell to Lucinda Gatsiounis and Alexandra Burnett 6-4, giving the Cardinals a crucial point to start off the match. While inconsequential to overall match score, No. 2 duo Brooklyn Bindas and Athena Li continued on from yesterday's momentum winning 7-5 versus Jacqueline Sloveychek and Natalia Leroy. 

Heading into the singles section of the match, the Jumbos had their work cut out for them, needing to win four of the six singles in order to secure the match. Ellie Gershaw couldn't find much of a rhythm at No. 2 singles versus Durkin losing the first set 6-1. Down 5-0 in the second set she gained a little momentum taking two straight games however it wasn't enough as Durkin broke her serve to win the second set 6-2.

M. Woodbury was the next Jumbo to fall, losing to Sloveychek 6-3 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Woodbury played a tough match, but a few unforced errors combined with Sloveychek's consistency proved too much.

At No. 5 singles Hu faced off against Macie Carlos who beat her 6-3 6-2. Despite a few competitive rallies, Carlos maintained control throughout the match to secure the win for Wesleyan. 

In a battle that lasted over two hours, Bindas was put up against Gatsiounis. Bindas took care of the first set winning 6-4 but dropped the second set 6-7 (0-7) losing all seven points in the tiebreaker. In the ten-point match tiebreaker, Bindas found herself in a better position than the prior tiebreaker but eventually lost 6-10. 

Mitchell played Youngberg at No. 3 singles and was defeated in a high intensity match 6-1 6-3. Despite the scoreline, Mitchell showed great resilience and fought hard for every point throughout the match.

After yesterday's dominant 6-0 6-0 win at No. 3 singles vs Trinity, Li was looking to add another win to her record. The first set did not go her way as she was quickly taken down 6-2. The second set proved to be a different story as Li fought back to take the second set in a tiebreaker. Li gave the Jumbos their only point of the day after winning the third set ten-point match tiebreaker 10-6.

A tough outing for the Jumbos today losing 6-1, next Saturday they play twice for what will be their last home matches of the season. They face No. 59 Connecticut College at 1 p.m. and Endicott College at 5 p.m.