The women's tennis team knew that it would face formidable competition on back-to-back days last weekend against No. 19 University of Kentucky and an undefeated Boston University squad. Despite preparation, Brown dropped both matches, falling 7-0 at home on Saturday to Kentucky, and the next day to 5-2 BU in Boston. These losses drop the Bears' record to 0-3.
The highlights of the weekend were victories by Daisy Ames '07 at No. 1 singles and Alexa Baggio '09 at No. 6 singles against the Terriers. Ames won a closely contested match in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-3. Baggio won 5-7, 6-0, 10-8, coming back from losing the first set to whitewash her opponent in the second frame and close out the match.
Though her win did not lead to team success, Ames felt her victory could be beneficial in other ways. "It was a good win for me personally," she said. "I lost to Erin Katims (BU No. 1) in the very first national tournament that I played in juniors - that match was a sort of wake-up call for the competition that I was to face for years to come. So playing her for the first time since and coming off the court with a victory for the team felt good."
But defeating Katims was no walk in the park for Ames.
"She definitely has a lot of experience and came up with huge shots at clutch moments. She nailed the corners on three points in the tiebreaker," Ames said. "I knew I had to step up my game as well, and I did. When the games were close and it was tied up, I was loving the moment. I had a really fun time playing that match."
The close matches exposed the Bears to what pressure-packed Ivy League matches will be like in April. Nevertheless, Assistant Coach Cecily Dubusker was unhappy with the match's results.
"I believe I speak for the team when I say that Sunday's match was disappointing," she said. "We just couldn't get a handle on the day across the board. Everyone had some bright spots, but not enough to get a hold of some confidence and run away with the match."
On Saturday, Kentucky did not drop a match, but the Bears provided a stiff challenge in the doubles matches. Michelle Pautler '07 and Sara Mansur '09 grabbed an 8-6 win at first doubles, and Ames and Kathy Sorokko '10 pushed the Wildcats' third doubles team to 7-all before losing 9-7. Mansur was also a tough out in singles play, falling 7-5, 6-4.
"I'm going to give credit to Kentucky on Saturday," Dubusker said. "They came in being an established great team and they played like it in each spot. In doubles, we looked like we deserved to win the point, and we almost did, which was great against a team ranked 19th in the country. The fact that we are almost there is frustrating, of course, but also pretty neat to see, too."
The Bears will be in action once again this weekend when they play Bucknell University on Saturday and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on Sunday. According to Ames, the Bears will hope to use the experience gained from this weekend's matches to their advantage.
"(Head Coach Paul Wardlaw) has done a really good job of getting a good, tough schedule for us early in the season," Ames said. "The teams we are playing are all very solid and once we get a bit more used to playing them, then the wins will come across the board and as a team. We are doing really well and we are only going to get better."
