The women's tennis team faced a slew of nationally-ranked opponents in California over spring break, returning to the East Coast with a 4-3 record.
The team, ranked 15th nationwide, won handily against UC-Santa Cruz, Washington University in St. Louis, Sewanee, and Chapman University, all top-30 teams. Its three losses were to No. 8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 9 Pomona and D-I Cal-State Northridge.
Chantalle Lavertu '13 and Emma Lewis '14 led the team in wins, as they compiled five victories at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively. As a pair, the two of them won five matches at the No. 3 position.
The team's close 5-4 loss to Pomona shows how much the team has matured since the previous season.
"This year, the team has a more competitive spirit and really fights to the last point from start to finish," Susanna Howard '14 said. "We had a lot of chances to win, and if that scenario comes up again, I feel like we'd be victorious."
She added that the overall high level of play that the team showcased in their California games has team morale "sky high. We won a lot of three-set matches. Last year, half the team was new to the college level of competition and folded after losing the first set." The entire team returned this season, as it lost nobody to graduation.
The team starts conference play this weekend in Connecticut with matches at Trinity and Wesleyan tomorrow. Bowdoin has not lost to either team in the last four years.
-Compiled by Christine Rheem.