Women's Tennis: Movin' on up

Going into fall season, coach Meghan McMahon, BK '87, knew she had a team with potential. "I knew we'd be deep, but I didn't realize how well the freshmen would fit into the team and the lineup," she said.

The team's remarkable depth was on display last weekend. With captain Sara Naison-Phillips, BK '99, out with an injury, the Bulldogs still dominated Rutgers 9-0 on Sat., Oct. 24, and disposed of Georgetown 7-1 on Sun., Oct. 25. Winning with three of the top six players out of the lineup is, according to McMahon, "something we could not have done last year." With the fall season in the books, all that remains for the team is the ITA individual championships on Sat., Nov. 6. Naison-Phillips and Somer Khanlarian, SY '99, are likely to represent Yale at the event, held at Pennsylvania.

Beyond this event, the team is looking forward to its new identity as a league powerhouse come springtime. While Khanlarian warns that "spring is a long way away," she has no doubt that "this is the best team I've played on at Yale." McMahon echoes her teammate's sentiments. "Beating Harvard was huge for us. It makes us realize that it's absolutely reasonable to set the Ivy League title as a goal," she said.

--Steven J. Rosenthal

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