It was a big week for the Amherst women’s tennis team as the Mammoths took on a pair of NESCAC rivals in Wesleyan and Hamilton.

Following a heartbreaking loss to Tufts, the No. 8 Mammoths sought redemption against No. 5 Wesleyan, their Little III rivals. Taking to the courts on Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals ultimately overpowered the visitors, 7-2, at the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts in Middletown, Connecticut. In doubles play, the Mammoths uncharacteristically lost all three matches, resulting in Amherst entering singles action with a three-point disadvantage. Amherst fell short at the top of the ladder losing all their matches on the first four singles courts.

Vickie Ip ’18 and junior Kelsey Chen put up spirited performances but failed to overpower their opponents, as each lost her respective match in a super tie-break. Amherst did have two consolation victories at the bottom of the ladder, as Anya Ivenitsky ’21 and Avery Wagman ’18 combined to drop only four games total in their straight-set wins.

Looking to end a disappointing week on a better note, Amherst dominated from start to finish on Sunday against Hamilton. En route to a 9-0 rout, Amherst dropped only one set and twenty games total in the entire contest.

All three Amherst pairings dominated the doubles courts as the Mammoths didn’t allow the Continentals to gain a foothold in any match. On the singles courts, Wagman had an impressive outing as she beat Ajla Karabegovic 6-0, 6-0. Ip, Ivenitsky, Camilla Trapness ’19 and Chen all sailed to easy victories.

Amherst’s toughest challenge came on court two, where sophomore Maddie Dewire lost the first set, 6-4. However, Dewire battled hard to fight back from behind and win the next set, before taking the match in the super tie-break 10-5. With the victory, Amherst improved to 9-7 on the season and 4-3 in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths will return to action on their home courts on Friday, April 27 against Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 6 p.m.