DECATUR, GA. - Due to impending inclement weather, top-ranked women's tennis woke up bright and early for an 8 a.m. date with fifth-ranked Denison in hopes of avoiding the rain storm. The two teams played the match to decision, and played all third-sets as super tiebreakers for time purposes. The early wake up call didn't shake the Ephs, as they pulled out a 6-2 decision.
"This was the first time we played them [Denison]," said Williams' head coach Alison Swain. "They have very strong doubles, and determined singles players, so it was a tough match throughout. I was proud of how well our team fought. We're certainly not playing our best tennis yet, but we fought hard and battled really well."
If the Ephs are not playing their best tennis yet, the rest of Division III should take note, as Williams still put on a strong showing against a very talented Denison team. Although the Ephs' number one doubles team fell by an 8-4 score, the Williams pairs at courts two and three battled for two critical points. Grace Baljon and Taylor French, and Kristin Alotta and Genny Loomis, beat out their Denison counterparts by a narrow 9-7 margin.
Baljon had a solid straight set win at court one over Meghan Damico. Cary Gibson, who missed the first spring break match of the season, struggled in her return to the team. After losing the first set, the typical come from behind player fought hard in the second set, but lost in the breaker 7-3.
The middle of the lineup produced solid tennis for Williams, picking up three more points for the Ephs. Freshman Kristin Alotta had a dominant performance at court four, only relinquishing one game to Denison's Erin Chadwell in a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Nikki Reich and Ashley Parsons also added two wins for Williams.
Williams will have no time to rest, as they take on Washington University tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. If the rain persists into tomorrow, the match will be moved indoors with the first serve set for 4:00 p.m.
Williams 6, Denison 2
Doubles-
1) Kristin Cobb/Marta Drane (D) def. Cary Gibson/Nikki Reich (W) --- 8-4
2) Grace Baljon/Taylor French (W) def. Kendra Murray/Meghan Damico (D) --- 9-7
3) Kristin Alotta/Genny Loomis (W) def. Kara Zdanowski/Erin Chadwell (D) --- 9-7
Singles-
1) Baljon (W) def. Damico (D) --- 6-3, 6-4
2) Cobb (D) def. Gibson (W) --- 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
3) Reich (W) def. Drane (D) --- 7-5, 6-3
4) Alotta (W) def. Chadwell (D) --- 6-1, 6-0
5) Ashley Parsons (W) def. Sarah Short (D) --- 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
6) Zdanowski (D) led Annie Hancock (W) --- 4-3
