Eph head coach Alison Swain '01, junior Cary Gibson, and
sophomore Grace Baljon will appear on the CBS NCAA Spring
Championships Highlights Show airing this Sunday on the network at
2:00 pm EST.
CBS had a camera crew on hand in St. Peter, Minn., on the campus
of Gustavus Adolphus College when they Ephs rolled to their third
NCAA title downing previously undefeated Washington & Lee in
the final 5-4.
Earlier in the year Washington & Lee hosted the Ephs in
Lexington, Virginia and the Generals came out on top 5-4. Shortly
after that match Swain found out that one of her top first year
players Lucy Marchese, who played #3 singles and doubles, was lost
for the year due to injury.
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| Grace Baljon during interview with CBS crew |
In the championship match vs. Washington & Lee the Ephs
trailed 4-3 and #1 singles player Cary Gibson was down 3-0 in the
third set. Somehow Gibson found a way to get back on track and she
won six straight games to win the match to even the score at
4-4.
It all came down to first year Nikki Reich who though in her first
year of intercollegiate tennis played in a handful of
match-deciding competitions and she won her third set convincingly
to make Swain one of only two coaches in Division III to win an
NCAA title as a player (2001) and as a coach.
Williams finished the year with a 21-3 record.
