Women's Tennis Readies For NCAA Action At Middlebury This Weekend

MEDFORD, MA (May 7, 2026) -- The No. 20 Tufts University women's tennis team opens up action in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament this weekend, heading to Middlebury, VT to take on Hartwick College in the opening round Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Outdoor Tennis Courts on the campus of Middlebury College.

The Jumbos are looking to get back into the win column after two tough losses, as Tufts fell 4-3 in the regular season finale to Washington & Lee before dropping a 4-1 decision to Amherst in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) quarterfinals. Tufts will battle Hartwick Friday, with the winner taking on host Middlebury College Saturday at 2 p.m.

Game Details

Regional Website

NCAA First Round

Vs. Hartwick College (14-4, 8-0 Empire 8)

Date: Friday, May 8, 2026

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Middlebury, VT - Outdoor Tennis Courts

Jumbos Against The Regional Field

The Jumbos will square off against Hartwick College for the first time in program history on Friday afternoon, but the rest of the regional field of six Tufts has seen extensively. If Tufts' moves on into the Second Round, the Jumbos have played the Panthers 40 times prior to this weekend with Middlebury holding a slight 21-19 edge. Tufts hasn't beaten Midd since 2021. The Jumbos also could square off against Stevens, Rhode Island College or Babson.

Tufts is 7-0 against Babson all-time dating back to 2006, but the Beavers come into the weekend ranked No. 5 in the latest ITA rankings and are the highest ranked team in the Middlebury pod. Tufts last defeated Babson in 2024 5-4. The Jumbos are 1-1 against RIC, with the last meeting taking place in 2018 as Tufts topped the Anchorwomen 5-0. Tufts is 1-0 against Stevens, defeating the Ducks 5-0 back in 2019 in the NCAA Tournament.

A Look At The Jumbos (12-6, 7-3 NESCAC)

The Jumbos come into the weekend looking to get back to what was working for them earlier in the season, as Tufts posted a stellar 7-3 record within the NESCAC including wins over strong teams like Williams and Bowdoin.

Tufts earned three All-NESCAC performers that were announced Wednesday, as senior

Lucy Mitchell was selected as a First Team singles performer.

Brooklyn Bindas and

Natalie Hu were also honored as a Second Team doubles duo.

The Jumbos have leaned on Mitchell to be the No. 1 player for Tufts this season, as the southpaw is 9-6 at No. 1 including going 5-4 within the conference. Mitchell is tied for the team lead in victories with 10 with sophomore

Melanie Woodbury, who is 10-5 overall this season and 8-4 in the spring posting wins at 1, 2, and 3.

Senior

Rachel Cranley has held down the No. 2 spot for the majority of the spring, and is 7-4 on the year. Classmate

Ellie Gershaw is 9-5 also with a 7-4 spring record in singles. First-year

Kyra McCandless has settled into a very solid role as the No. 5 player with a 9-2 mark on the season, going an unblemished 5-0 at No. 5, while Athena Lee has also played up and down the lineup with a 7-5 spring record.

Hu has played in nine dual matches this year, going 7-2 overall, while

Nadia Khera is also 6-2 in singles this spring.

In doubles, Tufts has played 19 doubles' pairings this season but Hu and Bindas hve been rock solid with a 7-1 mark together. Hu has 11 overall doubles' wins, the most on the team, while

Claudia Grove has also tallied 10 doubles' victories during her first season at Tufts.

Melanie Woodbury is 8-2 in the dual matches in doubles this spring, teaming with Grove for the majority of the spring season. McCandless and

Alyssa Khou also have been strong with a 7-1 record this spring, going 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.

Tufts is back in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, as it defeated Nichols 4-0 last year before bowing out to MIT 4-1 in the Second Round.

A Look At The Other Teams

Babson College is the top seed in the bracket, coming in as the No. 5 ranked team in the nation after topping No. 7 MIT in the NEWMAC title match, 4-1.

The Beavers have one of the top players in the nation in Matia Cristiani, who is 30-0 this season including going 14-0 in dual matches this spring at No. 1. Sandra Sikharulidze is also 20-4 overall, winning her last 14 matches individually, while the duo is 30-2 in doubles together.

Middlebury would serve as the No. 2 seed in the bracket this weekend, as the Panthers are 13-6 overall after going 8-2 in the NESCAC. Middlebury has three 20-match winners this season, as Elsie Van Wieren is 22-6 overall this year, sporting a 15-3 dual match record at No. 1 singles. Ren Barton is 20-6 this year, playing at 3-4-5, while Charlotte McCann was 9-1 in the NESCAC while tallying a 20-5 record. Van Wieren and Anna Lardner are the top doubles' team with a 10-3 overall record.

Stevens has had just eight players play singles' matches this season, but the Ducks went 27-1 in conference this year in singles. Alix Dry is 13-3 overall at No. 1 this year, while Lorena Piegas is the No. 2 player having gone 10-6 on the season. The Ducks are ranked No. 39 in the latest ITA rankings. Dry and Kaylee Hobbick are 13-4 in doubles together, going 10-1 at No. 3.

Rhode Island College has not lost in 2025-26, sporting a 16-0 record while winning the Little East Conference. Arianna De Thomas is 13-2 overall this year at No. 1, while Haylie Peacock has gone 15-0 on the season. Faith Owren is also undefeated in 2025-26 with a 14-0 mark at No. 5. In doubles, Erica Botelho and Peacock are 14-1 at the top spot, while Emily Houwers and Ariana De Thomas are 14-1 at No. 2. RIC played just one spring match, as the entirety of their season was played back in the fall except for a 7-0 win over Curry on April 9.

Hartwick has only played three matches in the spring, defeating FDU-Florham 7-0 while fallowing to TCNJ and Colby Sawyer. Back in the fall, Hartwick won the Empire 8 with a 4-1 win over SUNY Geneseo on October 18. Samantha Lantzy and Phoebe Olson have been the top two players for the Hawks, combining to go 21-8 on the year at the top two positions. Maggie Van Valkenburgh also is a stellar 14-4 on the year. In doubles, Lily Vanuga and Lantzy are 13-3 overall and 12-2 at No. 2, while Polson and Gianna Leggieri are 11-3 at the top position.

--JUMBOS--