Women's Tennis Knocks Off Trinity 7-0 in NESCAC Action Thursday

MEDFORD, MA (March 12, 2026) -- The No. 15 ranked Tufts University women's tennis team opened NESCAC play in dominant fashion on Thursday afternoon, sweeping Trinity College (CT) by a 7-0 score at the Paul Assaiante Tennis Center in Hartford.

The Jumbos improved to 5-0 on the season with the victory, taking control of the match early by claiming the doubles point and then winning all six singles matches in straight sets.

Doubles play began the afternoon, with Tufts needing victories in two of the three matches to secure the team point. The first match to finish came at No. 2 doubles where Claudia Grove and Melanie Woodbury delivered a flawless performance, blanking Trinity's Elise Brennan and Julia Clark 6-0 to put the Jumbos on the board early.

Tufts clinched the doubles point shortly after at the top position. Stephanie Woodbury and Rachel Cranley turned in a strong outing at No. 1 doubles, defeating Naisha Rathi and Hellena Trojer 6-2 to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead in the match. The duo is now 4-0 this year together. 

The final doubles contest also went Tufts' way as Natalie Hu and Brooklyn Bindas wrapped up the sweep with a 6-2 victory over Kendall Cedar and Brennan Damond at No. 3, sending the Jumbos into singles play with momentum.

Singles competition saw Tufts continue its dominance across the lineup. The first singles match to finish came at No. 4 where Natalie Hu posted a commanding 6-2, 6-0 win over Elise Brennan, quickly doubling the Jumbo lead to 2-0. Hu improved to 4-1 on the season. 

At the top of the lineup, Rachel Cranley followed with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Allie Francis at No. 1 singles, while Melanie Woodbury added another point with a 6-2, 6-2 decision against Naisha Rathi at No. 2.

Athena Li extended the Tufts advantage with a decisive 6-2, 6-0 win against Kendall Cedar at the No. 3 position, putting the match firmly out of reach.

The Jumbos closed out the afternoon with wins in the final two matches to finish. Kyra McCandless earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Hellena Trojer at No. 5 singles, and Ryan Wuhrman completed the sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Brennan Damond at No. 6.

With the win, Tufts remains unbeaten early in the spring season and secures an important conference victory against the Bantams.

Tufts will now head south for Spring Break, traveling to Virginia to take on three ranked foes starting with a match-up with No. 13 Johns Hopkins University at Christopher Newport University Friday, March 20 at 10 a.m.

--JUMBOS--