Blue Tennis Falls at to #5 Tufts

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley College tennis team dropped a 9-0 match at the hands of the fifth-ranked team in the nation, Tufts University, on Saturday in Wellesley. The match was held indoors at the Keohane Sports Center.

Tufts, also ranked #3 in the region, improves to 11-2 this season. Wellesley, the 10th-ranked team in the region, sets its season record to 15-7.

The Jumbos swept doubles play to go ahead, 3-0. At one, Julia Browne and Shelci Bowman earned an 8-4 victory over Wellesley's Marie Watanabe and Jacqueline Shen, while at two, Lindsay Katz and Eliza Flynn defeated the Blue's Nathalie Herman and Diana Granger, 8-4. At three, Samantha Gann and Janice Lam cruised to an 8-1 victory over Erica Choo and Kendall Tada.

In singles, the top-ranked player in the nation, Browne, defeated Wellesley's Watanabe, 6-0, 6-4, while at two, Shen took Tufts' Katz to a first-set tiebreaker, before falling 7-6(6), 6-2. At three, Bowman defeated Choo, 6-2, 7-5, while at four, Granger fell to Lauren Hollender, 6-4, 6-4. Rounding out singles, Herman fell to Gann, 6-1, 6-3, and Morgan Johnstonbaugh fell to Edwina Stewart, 6-2, 6-2.

Wellesley hits the courts again in two weeks, facing off against Bowdoin on Saturday the 30th. Tufts will next host #1 Amherst College on Tuesday.