After sweeping three matches the weekend of Feb. 17, the women's tennis team was swept by two of the nation's top programs last weekend. Brown fell at home to No. 25 Vanderbilt University 6-1 and No. 28 University of Virginia, 7-0.
The weekend highlight was provided by Kelley Kirkpatrick '08 in her match versus Vanderbilt on Saturday. Playing at No. 6 singles, Kirkpatrick crushed her opponent with a 6-0, 6-3 victory. She kept her opponent on the run with her solid returns that struck deep in the court and in the corners.
"That was the best match I've played in a long time," Kirkpatrick said. "I made lots of points at the net and my serves were really good."
But her opponent did not go down without a fight.
"She got a lot of balls back," Kirkpatrick said. "I kept telling myself to stay aggressive and keep playing the net - that's how I was beating her. I want to keep playing like I played (Saturday) in singles and doubles, and not be sloppy."
Sara Mansur '09 and Tanja Vucetic '10 played tightly-contested sets that went into tiebreakers against Vanderbilt on Saturday. Mansur dropped her No. 2 singles match 7-6 (3), 6-4, and Vucetic fell 7-6 (3), 7-5 at fifth singles.
"She was really good under pressure and came in with big points," Mansur said about her opponent. "But it was a nothing-to-lose situation since they are such a highly ranked school. It helped me play loose."
On Sunday, the women struggled against Virginia. First singles player Daisy Ames '07 put up a fight but fell 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
"I showed signs of improvement in the second set," Ames said. "I still need to move my feet more and I am working on my volley-game and strengthening my ground strokes."
The Bears' doubles teams faced stiff competition as well. Emily Ellis '10 and partner Kirkpatrick fell in their No. 1 doubles match, 8-2, and No. 2 team Mansur and Brett Finkelstein '09 lost 8-4.
One of the main factors in the weekend's steep defeats was that No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles player Michelle Pautler '07 fell ill after her doubles match versus Vanderbilt and had to miss the match-up versus Virginia. Since Pautler was unable to play for the remainder of the weekend, each player moved up a slot to cover the absence. Though the Bears were out of their comfort zones, they were still able to deliver a spirited effort against the Cavaliers.
"We came in as an untested team against teams used to being high-level. We showed that we can hang with them really well," Assistant Coach Cecily Dubusker said. "But when it comes down to big points, like deuce, we get tight."
Nevertheless, the Bears are thinking positively about the future and the fast-approaching Ivy League season.
"We are getting good experience," said Dubusker. "We will continue to think of the court in three dimensions and make our opponents move around. We are playing maturely. We want to stay focused in matches and not play hyper-tennis - just calm, confident tennis."
