Today marks the halfway point of our trip to California, so I'll catch you up on how the team has been doing on and off the court. On Saturday, our first full day in Claremont, we practiced for about an hour and a half in the morning, took a short break from the midday sun at our favorite sandwich place in town (Full of Life comes highly recommended by AWT in case you're ever in the Claremont area) and then had a doubles scrimmage against Columbia University's team. It was a great opportunity for both teams to readjust their doubles play and strategy to the wind, sun, and heat in some friendly, low-pressure matches. Our first doubles tandem of Brittany Berckes and Natasha Brown won 8-6, Jill Wexler and Laura Danzig came out ahead in a streaky, back and forth 9-7 proset at the number two position, Anuja Ankola and myself dropped a hotly contested 8-6 proset at number three, and our "double-the-fun" dynamic duo of Carlissa and Laken King defeated their opponents 8-1 in trademark speed. Though both teams thought it better to conserve energy for the long week ahead by opting out of singles, our scrimmage-success gave AWT valuable confidence against Division 1 opponents before taking on fellow Ivy League team Cornell the following day.

We were lucky enough to play our season opening match against Cornell University at the beautiful and historic Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, California. In addition to our coaches and Californian family members we were excited to have several high school tennis players from the area who are interested in Amherst out watching our match - in case any of you all are reading this now (as I think Jackie told you to) thanks so much for coming and it was great to meet all of you! Theshots that these division one girls hit were heavier than most of our normal opponents' (mom, in case you were wondering, heavier means harder, deeper, and with tighter top-spin), but thanks to the hours spent working on doubles with Jackie, or even playing the dreaded set of doubles against Jackie (who is without a doubt the most competitive person I've ever met), we stayed unintimidated and capitalized on Cornell's unforced errors and our own partner-chemistry to finish the doubles round up 2-1. The match highlight was undoubtedly Jill Wexler battling back from 0-40, 7-8 in her service game to force the decisive doubles set into a tiebreak in which she and freshman partner, Laura Danzig, poached, aced, and slammed their way to a 7-5 victory. After a five minute break, the singles line-up was sent back out to the courts and, unfazed by the sun and heat, fought in tight matches for a 4-2 Amherst victory in the singles, making the final match score 6-3 Amherst. Since I was the last court to finish, I don't have much interesting information to add about these matches, so the complete scores will have to suffice:

Amherst 6, Cornell 3

1st doubles: Sanchez, Kent (C) def. Berckes, Brown (A) 8-1

2nd doubles: Wexler, Danzig (A) def. Googe, Miller (C) 9-8 (5)

3rd doubles: Bell, Ankola (A) def. Duboc, Chris (C) 8-6

1st singles: Kent (C) def. Berckes (A) 6-3, 6-3

2nd singles: C. King (A) def. Googe (C) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

3rd singles: Miller (C) def. Brown (A) 6-4, 6-3

4th singles: Wexler (A) def. Duboc (C) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4

5th singles: Bell (A) def. Seyburn (C) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

6th singles: L. King (A) def. Loumis (C) 6-0, 6-0

That night following our victory, the team, as well as all 22 members of Amherst men's tennis, enjoyed a home-cooked Mexican feast at Natasha Brown's nearby California house. While in the amazing limo-ride to dinner (thanks Mr. Brown!!!) the team, led by ever-mischevious Brittany Berckes devised a series of dares members of AWT would perform on other unsuspecting guests. These dares included Natasha silently giving unsuspecting men's tennis coach Chris Garner a lingering hug upon arrival, Melissa Moulton proposing to Sean Doerfler, Carlissa King serenading freshman Julian Camacho to "Contagious", and myself wordlessly feeding Priit Gross a strawberry dipped in frosting. As we left the Brown house, stomachs full of of burritos and red velvet cake, we all felt rejuvenated and ready for our next five matches.

The next morning we all prepared ourselves for a tough match against fellow division-three foe Pomona-Pitzer who's good results from the previous week we'd all noticed. Our focus and drive were evident as we marched to an 8-1 victory over the Sagehens on their home courts. Here's the complete rundown:

Amherst 8, Pomona-Pitzer 1

1st doubles: Finicane, Muesse (P) def. Berckes, Brown (A) 9-7

2nd doubles: Wexler, Danzig (A) def. Stevenson, Lange (P) 9-8 (1)

3rd doubles: Bell, Ankola (A) def. Holsted, Clough 8-0

1st singles: Berckes (A) def. Lange (P) 6-3, 6-3

2nd singles: C. King (A) def. Muesse 6-4, 6-1

3rd singles: Wexler (A) def. Holsted 1-6, 7-6 (6), 10-3

4th singles: Brown (A) def. Clough (P) 6-3, 6-4

5th singles: Bell (A) def. Myers (P) 6-2, 6-1

6th singles: L. King (A) def. Stevenson 6-1, 6-1

That night AWT was again grateful to be dinner guests at one of our teammate's houses, this time at Jennifer Ouyang's beautiful Pasadena abode. Following some much-anticipated retail therapy in old town Pasadena (Western Mass shopping really doesn't compare) we enjoyed a buffet feast for the second night in a row. After dinner we all piled into the den for a team "Gossip Girl" session in which talking outside of commercial breaks was strictly prohibited. If you can't tell by now, anyone who says going on a spring break trip with a sports team is all work and no fun has clearly never spent time with AWT.

Yesterday we reached the halfway point of our matches with a decisive 9-0 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Though we're still making some unforced errors and need to capitalize sooner on our opponents' short balls (as Jackie reminded us during the break between doubles and singles), the strides made during our daily matches are evident. Here, once again, are our scores from the match:

Amherst 9, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 0

1st doubles: Brown, Berckes (A) def. Fox, Kornfield (C) 8-5

2nd doubles: Wexler, Danzig (A) def. LaCava, Reed (C) 8-2

3rd doubles: Bell, Ankola (A) def. Hsu, Daly (C) 8-4

1st singles: Berckes (A) def. LaCava (C) 7-5, 6-1

2nd singles: C. King (A) def. Kornfield 6-3, 6-0

3rd singles: Wexler (A) def. Fox (C) 6-3, 6-2

4th singles: Brown (A) def. Hsu (C) 6-2, 6-1

5th singles: Bell (A) def. Reed (C) 6-1, 6-1

6th singles: L. King (A) def. Layendecker (C) 6-0, 6-0

Following our victory, several members of the team cooled off by jumping into the hotel pool while still in uniform - hopefully by next week I can post someone's pictures from this escapade on the blog because words don't do it justice. For the third and final night we were spectacularly hosted by Amherst tennis parents, this time by captain Tara Shabahang's extended family who prepared a splendid Persian feast that made several players exclaim a new found love for Persian cuisine. After eating red velvet cake, taking team picture number 72 (or so), and exchanging hugs and kisses with Shabahang grandmothers, aunts, brothers, and cousins, the team went to an early bed (after spreading some much needed aloe across our shoulders and backs) to get some much-needed rest before our three remaining matches.

Over the next three days we'll be playing Azusa Pacific, Redlands, and Cal State Fullerton. I'll try to post a quick update on those matches before the end of next week in case there are any diehard fans, other than my mom, reading this. If you've actually made it to the end of this ridiculously long entry, congratulations! To conclude and remind you of anything you may have forgotten while reading this brief novel, here's a rundown of what AWT has learned in California so far:

-Jill Wexler is unstoppable in tiebreakers (4-0 so far)

-SPF 70 doesn't stand up to California sunshine

-Julian Camacho enjoys being serenaded to R&B classics by members of AWT

-AWT parents must throw the best dinner parties in the 'CAC

-Laken King is a beast and has yet to give up a game in singles

-AWT has an insatiable (and, to me, incomprehensible) obsession with red velvet cake)

-I need a good editor

Thanks for reading! Until next week,

Mimi

            Only three days left until California! When members of AWT haven't longingly been checking the online 10-day forecast for Claremont, California or frantically studying for midterm exams, we've been continuing to prepare ourselves for the season's intense start. Our excitement for the upcoming spring break trip hit a new high this weekend when the unseasonably warm weather (combined with the ice-scraping and snow-shoveling efforts of Jackie and the Amherst Men's Tennis team) afforded us the rare opportunity of playing outside before April. I have never before witnessed AWT greet an early Sunday afternoon practice - on daylight savings time no less - with such eagerness as the smiling, enthusiastic, and almost glowingly-pale (thanks New England winter) group of us did this past week. As if the desire for spring break's respite from papers, test, and ever-changing cage practice times wasn't enough, the reminder of the sheer joy of playing tennis outdoors made our shared longing for the trip to sun-drenched California stronger. And, if 55 degrees and partly cloudy could elicit the type of reaction I witnessed last Sunday, I can only imagine how excited and motivated the team will be when its 75 degrees and sunny (as weather.com predicts) during our season opening match against Cornell this Sunday.

             In this unseasonably warm weather, on the indoor tennis courts at neighboring Mount Holyoke College and within the infamous cage our challenge matches were at last completed this weekend. These intense and spirited matches have re-honed our competitive mindsets which will inevitable prove invaluable in the ensuing months. Additionally, the countless hours spent on doubles are making themselves evident as each team continues to make great strides in their cooperation with, trust in, and enjoyment of one another. As Jackie wrote us in an email earlier this week in regards to our recent improvements, she has seen that the player at the baseline has been setting up her partner, the terminator (the net-player in the position to end, terminate, the point) has been putting the ball away, but we must still "remember in doubles it is always important not to get cute, stupid or bored".  Don't worry, Jackie. Point taken.

             Off the court, final preparations have been made before our 4:30 am departure from Amherst on Friday: our uniforms have (finally!) arrived, our deeply-bronzed assistant coach, Jon, has returned from his winter hiatus in Florida, and we've each been assigned a 'secret psyche' for whom to make or purchase a small gift that will psyche her up for the break. Though the gift-exchange tomorrow night will be a nice fulfillment of AWT tradition, I think it's pretty clear we hardly need any psyching.

That said, if whoever has me as her psyche happens to be reading this, I'm a big fan of dark chocolate.   

            So after reading some of the other blogs on the website, I realized I probably ought to introduce myself and, more importantly, the team. I am a sophomore double-majoring in religion and political science and originally hail from Shaker Heights, Ohio. Apart from the small class sizes, beautiful scenery, brilliant professors, and interesting students (to name but a few), I was attracted to Amherst by the tennis team's historical success within the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) and Division III as a whole. For those readers unacquainted with the history of the program, the Amherst women's tennis team has made 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances, has won the NESCAC title the past four years, and won the NCAA championship in 1999.  Though I am clearly biased, we are a veritable power house, and if we play intense, focused, and smart tennis there is no team that we cannot beat.

            Even more impressive than these statistics and my own immodest praise are the girls themselves who make up our unique, diverse, and ever-entertaining team. Though in the season's final tournaments our roster will be confined to eight players, eighteen girls are officially members of the team. Some may never see playing time, while some have crucial components of the line-up since their freshman fall, but regardless we're all proud to announce that we're part of "AWT" (Amherst Women's Tennis). Since my first captain's practice at Amherst over freshman orientation, the tennis team has been a source of support, advice, and friendship - even if it took me a month and a half to talk regularly in practices.  To say we become one another's family away from home is extraordinarily cliché, but also extraordinarily accurate. We compete with one another for playing time, turn to one another for advice, laugh with and at each other, and sometimes get so fed up that we just want to throw our racquet across the court and walk out, but the team's still your team and you're going to have to (and will indeed want to) show up to team dinner in the dining hall from time to time.

            But that's enough of an overview for now; its time to talk about what we're doing right now to ensure that this season is a success. This past week our cage time was (mercifully) pushed forward to 8pm - 10pm, with many of us coming down to work with Jackie in between our morning classes.  However, our usually varied and unpredictable practice schedule got a little more complicated as much of the team succumbed in bouts to coughing, running noses, and general fatigue - an undiagnosed malady now simply being referred to as 'the plague'. While Jackie was trying desperately to schedule challenge matches before our spring break play begins next Sunday, it seemed as though a new player was falling ill daily. Add to that the last-minute Sunday night exams, pulled muscles, and a thumb that swelled to the size of a small kiwi after being slammed in a door, and it seems lucky that we've managed to get any of these challenge matches in. Thankfully, the plague's presence has perceptibly diminished and everyone has once again returned to playing shape, with the only reminders of earlier illness being sniffles, coughs, and the industrial-sized box of Kleenex Charlotte brought to practice this weekend.

            For the next two weeks we will continue playing challenge matches, working doubles formations, and mentally and physically preparing ourselves for the demanding trip to California that awaits us. Look out for further previews about those matches and our own line up in next week's post! For now, here are a few pictures of the team to give you a better idea of what AWT is all about:

The team after last year's NESCAC Tournament win

 

After beating The College of New Jersey in California last spring

Most of last year's team (including Jackie and her daughter) at graduation

 

Until next week,

Mimi