WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - When outlining their goals
for the upcoming spring season, the players on the Williams
women’s tennis summed it up best, stating: “We want to
carry on the legacy of Williams tennis, but live in the present
season.”
The legacy of Williams women’s tennis is certainly grand,
with the program having claimed four national championships within
the last decade. The Ephs have dominated the Division III
collegiate tennis scene in recent years, winning back-to-back NCAA
Championships in 2008 and 2009 under third-year head coach Alison
Swain. Swain, a 2001 graduate of the College, is just the
second coach in any division to win a national title as both a
player (’01) and a coach (’08 and ’09).
“We talk about every year as a new year,” said
Swain. “The girls on the team set the goals for the
season, and my role as coach is to honor those goals and help them
the best I can to achieve them. At the same time, it is one
of my personal goals for the team to celebrate the process and take
a lot of pride in the small steps along the way. Ultimately
if we lost every single match this season, what we are going to
take away is that we supported each other, had a great team culture
and work ethic, and enjoy becoming better players.”
Ranked No. 3 in the Division III Campbell/ITA Rankings, it seems
highly unlikely that the Ephs will be anything but successful on
the courts this spring. The current Williams squad has a huge
arsenal with which to contend for a third consecutive championship
this season. Despite losing four-time All-American Cary
Gibson and a consistently solid Annie Hancock to graduation, the
Ephs still have tremendous experience in their returning players in
both singles and doubles play.
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| Grace Baljon '10 |
Senior co-captain Grace Baljon will return to the number one
singles spot as a two-time All-American, and a player who brings a
great deal of experience against the toughest competition in
Division III. Baljon will most likely team up with sophomore
Taylor French at number one doubles. The two sported an
impressive record last season at 16-1 in the number two doubles
spot, and reached the doubles title match in this falls ITA
tournament.
“Grace’s role as a number one player, and as one of
three current All-Americans, is to provide competitive leadership
on her court,” said Swain. “She is always going
to have very tough matches at number one, but she has the maturity
and skill to rise to that challenge.”
Leading the team with Baljon is co-captain and senior, Ashley
Parsons. Parsons has played a high as No. 3 singles in her
career at Williams, but contributed positively in the number-five
spot for the majority of last season. She will most likely
play in the number six singles spot to start the
season.
“Ashley and Grace have really stepped up as leaders,”
commented Swain. “I have known them the longest on the
team, and I am proud to see how far they have come in three
years. They have extremely strong work ethics, and on a daily
basis, show how much they care for this team and the girls on this
team. Their competitive strengths they bring to the court are
a great example to everyone else.”
Baljon and Parsons have a strong support system behind them, and a
talented crop of underclassmen to contribute. Juniors Lucy
Marchese, Nikki Reich, and Katie Friedman return. Friedman
will look to contribute to the team after missing the fall season
while studying abroad. Marchese missed early last
season due to a knee injury, but made her mark by going undefeated
in singles play in the NCAA tournament en route to the
championship. She will compete in both doubles and singles
this season.
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| Ashley Parsons '10 |
Reich, a doubles All-American and an All-NESCAC first-team
selection in both singles and doubles, went 24-3 at the No. 3 spot
last year. The junior has played in high-pressure situations
for the Ephs, having won the fifth point to take the national
championship against Washington and Lee in 2008, and will bring a
solid presence to the middle of the Williams lineup.
Kristin Alotta, Caroline Capute, and Taylor French comprise the
sophomore class. Capute had limited playing time last season,
but has improved greatly, evident in her positive fall
campaign. Paired with freshman Veranika Li at the New England
Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament, the duo won the
championship of the B-draw. French will play at number one
doubles with Baljon, and the two combine to make a powerful pair to
lead the Ephs this season on the doubles courts.
“I’ve been really impressed by the sophomore
class,” said Swain. “I think that at the start of
the spring they came in as freshman to an experienced team, and are
showing that they now have the experience and the depth in their
tennis game to be even stronger contributors than they were as
freshman.”
Alotta emerged last season as a powerhouse for the Ephs, and is
currently sporting a career record of 37-1. She has won 33
consecutive singles matches, and won the fall ITA Northeast
regional tournament with a resounding defeating over the top-seeded
player in the region by a 6-1, 6-1 score. Alotta and Reich
will pair up at number two doubles.
“Kristin’s game has really evolved over the last year
and a half, and it’s exciting to see her tennis go at the
next level in doubles and singles,” commented Swain.
“Her on court attitude and competitive drive is a staple of
our lineup.”
Freshman Li and Nancy Worley will round out the Williams
roster. Li joined with Capute to have a successful end to the
fall season, and Worley will most likely start off the season in
the number five singles spot. Worley will also join with
Marchese to make up the number three doubles pair.
The Ephs were able to work together in the shorter fall season,
and played in three duel matches and two tournaments.
Williams dominated Vassar and Wellesley in 9-0 sweeps, but fell to
Amherst, 6-3. Amherst, currently ranked number one in the
preseason poll, provided great motivation in the offseason.
“I think the Amherst loss was our toughest competition by
far of the fall,” said Swain. “It was motivating
through the winter and helped me see areas where we can improve,
and in some ways, the start of our spring season has been more
focused because of that loss.”
Williams must be focused heading into the start of the spring
season, as they, arguably, have the most difficult schedule in all
of Division III. The Ephs will play their first 11 of 12
matches against top-25 opponents, and will begin their spring
campaign with seven matches in a two-week span in California and
Virginia. Six of these seven opponents are ranked in the
top-ten nationally.
Returning to the East Coast, the Ephs will not find their season
any easier, as Williams will play five top-25 ranked opponents in
their first five matches after spring break. The NESCAC is an
extremely competitive conference as usual with five teams ranked in
the top twenty teams in the nation.
“This is the toughest schedule we have played since I have
been here by far,” said Swain. “The girls have
really set some high goals for themselves this season. For us
it is going to be a balance of enjoying the process of competing
and improving, having fun with each other, and trying to play our
best tennis. I like the fact that we are playing a tough
schedule. It’s going to best prepare us to achieve our
goals although it will bring us tough moments along the way this
season.”
Williams begins their season in California on March 22 at #10
University of Redlands. First serve is set for 3:00 p.m.
(PST).
