Amherst Moves Past Tufts 5-2 in Women's Tennis Semifinals

Courtesy Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Top-seeded Amherst battled past fourth-seeded Tufts 5-2 on Saturday afternoon during the semifinals of the 2009 NESCAC Women's Tennis Championship. The Lord Jeffs will face Williams, a 5-0 winner over Middlebury, on Sunday for the conference title. Amherst has defeated Williams in each of the last three NESCAC finals.

Julia Browne and Meghan McCooey, two of the region’s top players, paired up at court one to defeat Amherst’s top pair. The Lord Jeffs took the bottom two doubles matches for the 2-1 advantage heading into singles play, winning by narrow margins of 8-6 in both courts.

Browne continued to contribute for Tufts at court one, winning against Brittany Berckes, 6-3, 6-3, but the bottom of the Amherst lineup proved to be to tough today as the Lord Jeffs tallied wins at courts four, five, and six. Laken King lost only one game in a dominant showing at court five over Edwina Stewart, 6-0, 6- 1. Natasha Brown took first set tiebreak before cruising to a 6-1 second set, while Amelia Bell was solid in a 6-3, 6-3 win in court six.

No. 1 Amherst 5, vs. No. 4 Tufts 2

Doubles
1 - Julia Browne/Meghan McCooey (Tufts) def. Brittany Berckes/Natasha Brown (Amherst) - 8-3
2 - Anuja Ankola/Amelia Bell (Amherst) def. Edwina Stewart/Jennifer Lavet (Tufts) - 8-6
3 - Laura Danzig/Jill Wexler (Amherst) def. Erica Miller/Jennifer LaCara (Tufts) - 8-6

Singles
1 - Julia Browne (Tufts) def. Brittany Berckes (Amherst) - 6-3, 6-3
2 - Meghan McCooey (Tufts) vs. Carlissa King (Amherst) - 6-2, 4-6 DNF
3 - Erica Miller (Tufts) vs. Jill Wexler (Amherst) - 6-1, 4-6, 4-2 DNF
4 - Natasha Brown (Amherst) def. Alex CauJenn LaCara (Tufts) - 7-6 (4), 6-1
5 - Laken King (Amherst) def. Edwina Stewart (Tufts) - 6-0, 6-1
6 - Amelia Bell (Amherst) def. Natalie Schils (Tufts) - 6-3, 6-3