Written by Ben Lable, Athletic Communications Student Intern

MIDDLEBURY, VT (May 9, 2026) - The No. 20 Tufts women's tennis team took on the No. 12 Middlebury Panthers on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament. Last season, the Jumbos were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round, while the Panthers advanced one round further before being eliminated by Johns Hopkins. In today's match, the Jumbos fought hard but were unable to pull through, ending their 2026 season with a 4-2 loss to the Panthers.

At No. 2 doubles, Lulu Wu and Ananya Annapantula proved too strong for Rachel Cranley and Ellie Gershaw, defeating the Tufts pair 6-1. Claudia Grove and Melanie Woodbury narrowly fell 7-5 to Ren Barton and Diya Pachamuthu at No. 3 doubles, clinching the first point of the match for Middlebury. Brooklyn Bindas and Natalie Hu were leading 6-5 against Anna Lardner and Elsie Van Wieren at No. 1 doubles when their match was abandoned.

Gershaw faced off against Wu at No. 4 singles and defeated her in straight sets. After a tight 7-5 opening set, Gershaw shut out Wu 6-0 in the second to even the overall match score at 1-1.

Cranley was the next Jumbo to finish, taking on Lardner at No. 2 singles. Lardner claimed the first set 6-1, but Cranley responded with a 6-3 second set win to force a third. In the deciding set, Cranley was bested 6-3, putting the Panthers back in front 2-1.

Woodbury earned a three-set victory over Barton at No. 3 singles. After dropping the first set 6-2, Woodbury rallied to win the next two sets 7-6 and 6-1, tying the match once again.

At No. 1 singles, Lucy Mitchell and Van Wieren met in a rematch from earlier in the season. Van Wieren controlled the first set 6-2. Unlike their previous meeting, Mitchell forced a third set by battling to a 7-6 second-set win. However, Van Wieren closed out the match with a 6-3 victory in the third.

Pachamuthu clinched the match for the Panthers with a win over Kyra McCandless at No. 5 singles. The freshman McCandless fell 6-4, 7-5, officially bringing the Jumbos' season to an end.

The match at No. 6 singles between Hu and Charlotte McCann was abandoned midway through the second set.

Tufts finishes the season with a 13-7 overall record, highlighted by marquee wins over Williams, Bowdoin, and Christopher Newport. While the team will not travel to Chattanooga for the team championships, Mitchell could still compete in the singles championships, as she is currently the second alternate for the tournament.

Middlebury will face the No. 5 Babson Beavers tomorrow for a spot in the NCAA quarterfinals.