The women’s tennis team enjoyed a successful weekend at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center, taking down both Boston University and Miami University.
On Friday, the Elis (6–1, 0–0 Ivy) delivered a resounding 7–0 victory over the BU Terriers (3–3, 0–0 American East). After a season of experimenting with their doubles lineups, the Bulldogs tried two new combinations: Madeleine Hamilton ’16 and Amber Li ’15, who teamed up for the first time in the No. 1 spot but fell 8–6, and Blair Seideman ’14 and Hanna Yu ’15, who won comfortably 8–1 at No. 3. Team captain Elizabeth Epstein ’13 and Annie Sullivan ’14 returned to the No. 2 spot to take down the Terriers 8–3 and land the Bulldogs with a confident 2–1 lead heading into singles play.
At No. 1, Hamilton faced a tough opponent in freshman Lauren Davis but prevailed after a first-set tiebreak to notch a 7–6, 6–2 win. The Bulldogs swept the remainder of their singles matches, and Boston University only managed to win 20 games over five matches, compared to 60 by the Elis. A large Yale crowd, which had come to support the team on “Student Day,” cheered the Bulldogs from the stands.
“It definitely was an exciting atmosphere to compete in, and it was the most fans I’ve seen out in my three years on the team,” Seideman said. “It was a very enjoyable match in that way.”
Hamilton added the team was “motivated by the support” of friends, fans and family who came to watch.
“I thought we did a good job this weekend staying tough in our matches and executing what we have been working on,” she said. “We were all really excited about Student Day on Friday, and it was great having fans behind us.”
On Sunday, the Bulldogs took down Miami (4–7, 0–0 Mid-American), 6–1. The team retained the doubles pairings used on Friday and stormed all three of its doubles matches. Strongholds Epstein and Sullivan took an 8–1 win at No. 2, while Hamilton and Li won 7–3 in the tiebreak after an 8–7 battle in the No. 1 spot. At No. 3, Seideman and Yu overcame tough competition to win 8–6.
Having secured the doubles point, the Elis continued to dominate in singles play. Hamilton and Epstein comfortably won 6–2, 6–1 and 6–1, 6–1 in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. At No. 3, Seideman was dealt a 7–5, 6–4 loss by Nimisha Mohan, but Sullivan notched her sixth straight match in singles play. She remains undefeated this season after winning a hard-hitting three-set match 7–5, 2–6, 7–6 — proving her mettle with a 7–0 score in the third set tiebreak.
“We did a great job this weekend. A lot of us fought really hard in our matches, and especially some of us had a tough time, but we really battled, and we proved that we are a tough team mentally and physically,” Sullivan said.
The Bulldogs, currently ranked No. 23 in the nation, are not scheduled to play next weekend, but will return March 9 when they host St John’s.