Written by Ben Lable, Athletic Communications Student
MEDFORD, MA (March 1, 2025) - The Tufts University started its spring season off right on Sunday, sweeping a pair of matches over No. 26 Vassar College and Nichols College 7-0 each in action from Gantcher Center.
Match 1: Tufts 7, Vassar 0
Sunday marked the first match of the season for the No. 15 Tufts University women's tennis team as they hosted the No. 26 Vassar College Brewers. The Brewers entered the matchup with a perfect 2-0 record after defeating Smith College earlier in the month and Bates College on Saturday during their weekend road trip. Last season, Vassar won its first Liberty League title since 2010 after upsetting Skidmore College.
The Jumbos came out firing and swept doubles to take a 1-0 lead in the match. At No. 1 doubles, Tufts'
Rachel Cranley and
Stephanie Woodbury took care of business quickly against Iris Li and Erin McCusker after jumping out to a 5-0 lead. This set up Cranley to serve for the match, where she secured the 6-0 victory. Next to finish was No. 3 doubles, where
Claudia Grove and
Melanie Woodbury faced off against Sieun Lee and Gwendolyn Gray. The Jumbo duo went up 3-0 before dropping their first game. At 5-2, they managed to break Vassar's serve and win 6-2 to lock in the doubles point for the Jumbos.
No. 2 doubles saw the most resistance of any Tufts pairing, as
Lucy Mitchell and
Athena Li faced Madison Kirby and Ananya Krishnan. The match was back and forth, with Li and Mitchell going up 3-2 before falling behind 4-3. At 5-5, they managed to break serve to set up Li serving for the match. The Bo's couldn't capitalize on the opportunity and were sent to a tiebreak, which they eventually won 9-7.
In singles play, the Jumbos continued their strong start. At No. 2 singles, Cranley put together a dominant performance over Iris Li, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 to extend Tufts' lead. Right behind her,
Natalie Hu was just as commanding at No. 6 singles, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 straight-set victory over Liya Pomfret to continue the Jumbos' momentum.
At No. 5 singles,
Nadia Khera provided the match-clinching point, defeating Kirby in straight sets. After falling behind 3-0 in the opening set, Khera settled in and faced little resistance the rest of the way, only dropping one other game on her way to a 6-3, 6-1 win.
Mitchell battled McCusker in a tight matchup at No.1 singles that lasted nearly two hours. Mitchell narrowly took the first set 7-5 and edged out a 7-6 (7-3) victory in the second set tiebreak to give the Jumbos another point and a 5-0 lead.
No. 4 singles saw similar dominance from the Bo's as
Athena Li beat Krishnan 6-1, 6-2 in straight sets.
Melanie Woodbury was the last Jumbo to finish at No. 3 singles against Lee. After falling 6-4 in the first set, Woodbury battled back to win the second set 6-2 setting up a 10-pt final set tiebreaker. Finding herself down 5-7 in the tiebreak, Woodbury battled back to win 10-8 and complete the 7-0 sweep for Tufts.
Match 2: Tufts 7, Nichols 0
Next up for the Bo's were the Nichols College Bisons. The last match-up between the two squads came in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships, where Tufts bested them 4-0. Despite their early exit in the NCAA tournament, the Bisons came in riding a championship run in the Conference of New England tournament last season.
The second round of doubles saw three completely different Jumbo pairings deliver the same dominant results. No. 2 doubles wrapped up quickly for Nicole Kintiroglou and
Ryan Wuhrman, who beat Cora Brosch and Charis Vogler 6-1 in just twenty minutes. Right behind them, the freshman duo of
Alyssa Khou and
Kyra McCandless secured the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Cassie Rice and Erin Helly at No. 3 doubles. At No. 1 doubles,
Athena Li and
Natalie Hu delivered a 6-3 win against Kamora Helton and Pamela Gonzalez Vallardi, keeping the Jumbos undefeated in doubles play on the day.
Wuhrman brought home the second point for Tufts at No. 4 singles against Brosch. After taking the first set 6-1, Brosch retired from the match. Following Wuhrman, McCandless followed suit with a victory over Vogler at No. 2 singles. After dropping the opening game, she rattled off 12 straight games en route to a 6-1, 6-0 win in her NCAA singles debut.
Kintiroglou sealed the fourth point for the Bo's, giving them their second victory of the day. Her 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles over Gonzalez Vallardi clinched the match and highlighted the depth of this Tufts lineup.
At No. 1 singles,
Melanie Woodbury bested Helton 6-0, 6-1 to earn her second singles win of the afternoon. Soon after,
Evelina Anastasi capped off an exceptional performance at No. 5 singles, defeating Helly 6-0, 6-0. The No. 6 singles match was not played, as Nichols was unable to fill the spot, giving the Jumbos another perfect 7-0 victory.
Next Saturday, the Jumbos will begin their New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) slate as they travel to Maine to face the Bates College Bobcats. Bates currently holds a 1-5 record on the season, including a 6-1 loss to Vassar College, whom the Jumbos just defeated. Tufts currently holds a 15-match win streak over Bates dating back to the 2009-10 season and will look to extend it next week.
--JUMBOS--
