Written by Ben Lable, Athletic Communications Student Intern
MEDFORD, MA (April 12, 2026) – After taking down the No. 15 Williams Ephs 5-2 yesterday, the No. 20 Tufts University women's tennis team fell to the No. 12 Middlebury Panthers on the second day of a back-to-back, 5-2, on Voute Courts.
The Jumbos have had a rough time as of late, losing 15 of their last 16 matchups with the Panthers. However, this year the teams have similar New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) records, with Tufts at 5-2 and Middlebury at 4-1, both having lost to the Wesleyan Cardinals. Last year's match between the two teams ended in a narrow 4-3 Middlebury victory, showing how close the two squads were despite what recent history might suggest.
The Jumbos jumped out to a 1-0 lead after doubles, taking two of the three sets in front of a large crowd of friends and family. First to finish were
Ellie Gershaw and
Ryan Wuhrman, who beat Lulu Wu and Ananya Annapantula 6-4 at No. 2 doubles. No. 3 doubles saw the freshman duo of
Alyssa Khou and
Kyra McCandless down 4-1 in their first set. Khou and McCandless stormed back and won five straight games over Ren Barton and Diya Pachamuthu to win 6-4 and clinch the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles,
Brooklyn Bindas and
Natalie Hu narrowly fell to Anna Lardner and Elsie Van Wieren in a tiebreak, 7-6 (8-6).
In singles action,
Lucy Mitchell had a tough time as Van Wieren bested her 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Lardner also got the best of
Rachel Cranley at No. 2 singles, beating her in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Charlotte McCann was able to put Middlebury up 3-1, taking down
Athena Li at No. 5 singles. The first set was a close one that McCann took 7-5. In the second, Li found herself down 5-2 before eventually serving for the game that would even the score. McCann was able to break her serve and win the second set 6-4.
It may have taken three sets, but
Melanie Woodbury provided a big win at No. 3 singles, beating Wu 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Moments later, Elizabeth Doak clinched the match for Middlebury, beating McCandless 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
No. 4 singles also went to a third set after Gershaw and Barton split the first two. In the third set, Barton rallied to a 6-1 victory, ending the match with a 5-2 overall score in favor of the Panthers.
Next weekend, the Jumbos will host another pair of NESCAC teams in Medford as they near the end of the regular season. On Saturday, they will take on No. 46 Colby College before facing No. 10 Bowdoin College on Sunday. These two matches will mark Tufts' final NESCAC contests of the season before closing out the regular season at home on Senior Day the following Friday.
ORDER OF FINISH:
D: 2, 3, 1
S: 1, 2, 5, 3, 6, 4
--JUMBOS--
