The women's tennis team closed its fall season by going 2-7 at the New England Championships at Amherst College this weekend. Ana Katz '08 and rookie Emily Weisberger '10 were the only Judges in the win column, both winning first-round singles matches Friday before losing in Saturday's second round.The Judges know they have significant work to do in the offseason coming off a shaky fall, in which the team went winless in non-tournament play after Sept. 14, the second match of the season.

"We're looking forward to training really hard this fall," Katz said.

"We know what we need to work on, and we're ready to train and perfect our games."

Katz, at No. 1 singles, defeated Colby-Sawyer College senior Alex Hardenbrook in the first round, 6-3, 7-6 (4) Friday.

"I felt good after Friday's match and mentally prepared for the next day," Katz said.

Weisberger was the only other player to win, beating Salve Regina University senior Aki Tokutake, 6-0, 7-5 at fourth singles. The victory marked Weisberger's first singles win of the season.

"[The win] felt really good," Weisberger said.

"I was really nervous when I went in, but I played my game."

Saturday didn't go as well for Katz and Weisberger, as both lost in the round of 16.

Each suffered 6-1, 6-1 defeats, with Katz losing to Wellesley College junior Jenna Mezin and Weisberger falling to Bates College senior Laura Harris.

"[Mezin] was constantly attacking and had me on the run, and she was able to take advantage of every opportunity," Katz said.

"She was a very smart player and knew exactly what to hit and when to hit it."

"I played a better player Saturday, there wasn't much I could do," Weisberger said.

"We're in one of the hardest divisions in tennis, so I think we did well under the circumstances."

In the first round, Gabrielle Helfgott '09 played a close match at No. 2 singles until she was finally defeated by Springfield College freshman Kaitlynn Cates 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

"Gabrielle had a very tough singles match against a player who could get to everything and could run everything down, and that frustrated her," Katz said.

After receiving a bye in the first round of play, No. 3 singles Ariana Sinai '10 and No. 5 Jenicka Hornung '07 were defeated in the second round, winning a combined two games.

At No. 6 singles, Liz Adamov '08 also lost in the first round.

The Judges were swept in three doubles matches, losing by a combined score of 24-9.

Looking towards February, when the spring season will resume, players said they have a substantial amount of preparation to do.

"Winning isn't something that randomly happens," Katz said.

"It comes from the amount of hard work you put into the sport and the endless hours you train. We all want to win, and we're determined to put in the hard work to excel this spring."

In addition, the return of Colleen Donnelly '08, who was studying abroad this semester, is expected to boost the women's play for the spring.

"Colleen will really help us in both singles and doubles," Katz said.