Middlebury, Vt. – The Tufts University Jumbos advanced to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Semifinals with a 5-0 win over the Trinity College Bantams in a first-round match played at Middlebury College. No. 6-seeded Trinity drops to 9-7 with its third defeat in a row, while the No. 3-seeded Jumbos (14-4) will take on No. 2-seeded Williams in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Tufts took all three doubles matches, including a 9-8 win by Samantha Gann and Janice Lam at #3 over Bantam rookies Elizabeth Gerber (Bethesda, Md.) and Senzo Mauve-Maphisa (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe).  The lead grew to 4-0 in singles play when Eliza Flynn was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over junior Kelsey Semrod (Princeton, N.J.) at No. 4. The match was later clinched by Shelci Bowman, when she topped Bantam senior co-captain Jillian Steckloff (Framingham, Mass.), 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 3 slot.            

MATCH RESULTS
Singles
1. Did Not Finish
2. Did Not Finish
3. TU- Shelci Bowman d. Jillian Steckloff, 6-3, 6-3                                 
4. TU- Eliza Flynn d. Kelsey Semrod, 6-2, 6-2                                         
5. Did Not Finish
6. Did Not Finish
Doubles
1. TU- Julia Browne/Bowman d. Hillary Hoyt/Steckloff, 8-2
2. TU- Lindsay Katz/Flynn d. Frances Cameron/Semrod, 8-1
3. TU- Samantha Gann/Janice Lam d. Elizabeth Gerber/Senzo Mauve-Maphisa, 9-8
Tufts 5, Trinity (Conn.) 0