Although the warm weather has left New England, the women's tennis team is on fire. Continuing their memorable winning streak, the Judges bested No. 30 Bates College 6-3 to improve their record to 9-1.

More impressively, the Judges improved their record against nationally ranked teams to 2-1, illustrating an impressive season marked by chemistry and confidence.

Faith Broderick '13 credited these attributes as primary factors for their recent success.

"We're very confident and never doubt our ability, so with this mindset, I know that we will be prepared to play and play well," she said.

She and rookie Carley Cooke '15, ranked sixth in the Northeast in doubles play, claimed an 8-4 victory.

Broderick noted the significance of doubles wins in building the momentum of the team during singles play.

"The biggest thing is to get off to a quick start," she said. "To come out very strong in doubles and being able to be up in the score before moving into singles will really help on Saturday."

Broderick and Cooke's victory led to another win from Dylan Schlesinger '15 and Simone Vandroff '15, the all-rookie duo.

Cooke, in the No. 1 slot, battled back from a 1-0 deficit to emerge with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win. Broderick swept her singles match at the No. 2 slot with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Allyson Bernstein '14 nearly did not concede a set at No. 3, winning 6-1, 6-1 in her match. Vandroff rounded out singles action with a three-set victory, after notching the super tiebreaker by an 11-9 margin.

Injury, however, continued to pose problems for the men's team in a 9-0 defeat last Saturday against 15th-ranked Bates. The Judges fell to 2-6 as they played in their second-straight match without junior captain Steven Milo '13. Despite these recent struggles, the Judges are still 10th in the March 15 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Region rankings.

Ezra Bernstein '11 MA '12 and Dave Yovanoff '13 suffered an 8-2 loss to start the action. At the No. 2 doubles slot, Josh Jordan '13 and rookie Alec Siegel '15 suffered a defeat in an 8-5 decision.

Heading into Saturday's match, though, Jordan was very excited for the team to have another chance to succeed.

"With the recently postponed matches, we're really looking forward to getting back out there and looking forward to playing some good tennis," he said. "As with any dual match, the key is aggressive doubles and smart singles."

With that mentality, the Judges put up a fight and played well but could only notch one win at the No. 4 spot.

The men could not succeed in their other three singles matches. Jordan lost 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1, Yovanoff fell at No.2 6-2, 6-3, while Siegel at No. 3 was defeated 6-3, 6-0.

While it was the second consecutive loss for the men, Siegel pointed out the importance of being able to bounce back in spite of defeat.

"We need to show ourselves, our coach and other teams in our conference that we are a force," he said. "In the past, we have bounced back after a tough loss, so hopefully, we do the same [in the future]."

The men's squad will host the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this Thursday at 3 p.m. in hopes of halting its losing streak and avenging the 9-0 loss to Bates.

In order to do this, the Judges must avoid the injury bug that has bested them all season, particularly captain Steven Milo '13, often in the No. 1 slot.

The women will host Skidmore College this Friday at 1 p.m. The team will hope to continue in their top-notch effort, especially after defeating another nationally-ranked rival.

After that, the team will compete in the Wellesley Invitational this Saturday and Sunday.

The Judges' opponents will not be announced until after the first round has been played.

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