The No. 13-ranked women's tennis team ended its regular season this past Saturday on the road, bowing to the No. 11-ranked Tufts Jumbos 6-3. The Polar Bears finish their regular season 9-6 (3-4) and fifth in the NESCAC.
The match started out poorly for Bowdoin, with Tufts taking two out of three initial doubles matches and carrying that one-match lead into singles play. The Jumbos then took four of six singles matches to clinch their victory. Senior Liz Pedowitz and Nikki Kuna '13 picked up the Polar Bears' sole doubles point in the No. 3 slot. Brett Davis '10 and Hannah Hoerner '12 earned the singles points for Bowdoin at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
The team looks forward to the 2010 NESCAC Tennis Championships at Amherst College this weekend. The fifth-seeded Polar Bears will face off against Middlebury at 9 a.m. on Friday. This is second time in three years that Bowdoin has faced Middlebury in the opening round of the tournament. During their last tournament meeting in 2008 the Polar Bears edged out the Panthers in a close 5-4 victory.
Last year, the Polar Bears missed out on a semifinal opportunity after falling to Tufts 5-0. Friday's winner will face first-seeded Williams on Saturday.
During their lone regular season meeting back on April 17 at Middlebury, the Panthers defeated Bowdoin 6-3, going 2-1 in doubles play and taking four of six singles matches. The Polar Bears are eager to avenge this defeat and reverse a recent string of losses, having lost four of their last five. In the two matches since Middlebury, the Polar Bears were swept by the Ephs on April 24 before their loss to Tufts.
Senior Captain Liz Pedowitz offered optimism, having high hopes for the Middlebury match and the future.
"The team has had a good season before and we're especially excited for the post-season matches. I think the whole team has improved physically and mentally and we have a history of pulling out big matches at the end of the season," she said "
"We want revenge against Middlebury this Friday," she added. "We have a young team this year and I know that they are going to develop much more over the next few years. I really do believe that the [team] will win a national championship very soon, if not this year."