2009 NCAA Div. III Women's Tennis Tournament
(First, Second and Third Round matches at Williams, May 8-10)
Friday, May 8th
8 AM — Wellesley 5, Endicott 0
11 AM — Vassar 6, Simmons 0
Saturday, May 9th
8 AM — Middlebury 5, Wellesley 0
11 AM — Williams 6, Vassar 1
Sunday, May 10th
12 PM — Williams 5, Middlebury 1
Ephs advance to Elite 8 over Middlebury, 5-1
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – Despite a relentless wind and tough on court conditions, Williams (19-2) women’s tennis advanced past Middlebury (11-10), 5-1, and will head to Georgia for the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament.
The two conference opponents had already faced off twice earlier in the season, with Williams taking both matches. The match was tighter today than it had been in previous contests, as the two of three unfinished matches were involved in three set battles while the third unfinished match appeared in Middlebury’s control.
Nevertheless, the Ephs pulled out the win after taking a 2-1 lead out of doubles. Williams’ Annie Hancock and Kristin Alotta fell at court three to Jamie Haar and Victoria Aiello of Middlebury, 8-4. The Ephs took the matches at courts one and two by 8-6 scores.
Alotta redeemed her doubles loss by tallying the first singles point for the Ephs. She defeated Clare Burke at court two, 6-0, 6-3. Nikki Reich followed shortly at court three, beating the Panther’s Elizabeth Stone, 6-2, 6-2. Lucy Marchese, after taking a first set tiebreak, closed out a routine second set to seal the victory for the Ephs.
“We are thrilled to be heading to Atlanta,” said Williams’ head coach Alison Swain. “We definitely feel privileged, and this is something we have worked very hard for. Middlebury was definitely more prepared to play us today, and the wind was tough to adjust to but we showed our positivity and mental fortitude.
Williams will play the winner of the Mary Washington/Denison match up on Tuesday, May 19.
Williams 5, Middlebury 1
Doubles-
1) Gibson/Reich (W) def. Stone/Kurien (M) --- 8-6
2) Baljon/French (W) def. Burke/Burke (W) --- 8-6
3) Haar/Aiello (M) def. Hancock/Alotta (W) --- 8-4
Singles-
1) Grace Baljon (W) vs. Victoria Aiello (M) --- 6-7(1), 6-1, 3-3
2) Chandra Kurien (M) led Cary Gibson (W) --- 4-6, 6-2, 3-2
3) Nikki Reich (W) def. Elizabeth Stone (M) --- 6-2, 6-2
4) Kristin Alotta (W) def. Clare Burke (M) --- 6-0, 6-3
5) Lucy Marchese (W) def. Anna Burke (M) --- 7-6(5), 6-2
6) Jamie Haar (M) led Annie Hancock (W) --- 6-3, 5-4
Williams advances to third round of NCAAs over
Vassar, 6-1
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – Defending national champions and No. 2 Williams College (17-2) started off their run in the NCAA tournament with a 6-1 defeat over No. 21 Vassar College (17-4). Vassar defeated Simmons College, 6-0, in the second round of the championship before running into the powerhouse Ephs.
Nikki Reich and Cary Gibson took court one, 8-5, over Nicole Pontee and Jamison Steele. Grace Baljon and Taylor French won their match at 8-4 on court two, as did Annie Hancock and Kristin Alotta at court three.
Williams struggled early on in singles play, which made their three doubles win pivotal. Cary Gibson fell at court two at the hands of Vassar’s Jennifer Beckerman, 6-2, 6-1. It was the only point of the day for Vassar, as Kristin Alotta proceeded to take a win at court four, and Grace Baljon and Annie Hancock finished their matches simultaneously to advance to the regional final tomorrow.
“It’s great to get the tournament started and have a round under out belts,” said Williams’ head coach Alison Swain. “Vassar played tough the whole way through, and I’m proud of how we battled back, especially after getting down early on in singles play.”
The Ephs will face off against conference foe Middlebury at noon tomorrow. The two teams have played each other twice already this season, with Williams taking both matches.
Williams 6, Vassar 1
Doubles-
1) Gibson/Reich (W) def. Pontee/Steele (V) --- 8-5
2) Baljon/French (W) def. Backer/Romita (V) --- 8-4
3) Hancock/Alotta (W) def. Beckerman/Jacbson (V) --- 8-4
Singles-
1) Grace Baljon (W) def. Nicole Pontee (V) --- 7-5, 6-3
2) Jennifer Beckerman (V) def. Cary Gibson (W) --- 6-2, 6-1
3) Nikki Reich (W) led Joy Backer (V) --- 1-6, 6-2, 4-3
4) Kristin Alotta (W) def. Alexis Jacobson (V) --- 6-3, 6-3
5) Elizabeth Anderson (V) led Lucy Marchese (W) --- 6-1, 5-6
6)
Annie Hancock (W) def. Jamison Steele (V) --- 6-1, 6-2
Middlebury moves on in 5-0 defeat of Wellesley
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – No. 15 Middlebury (11-9) defeated Wellesley (18-5), 5-0, to advance to the regional final of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Pride defeated Endicott College yesterday, 5-0, in the first round of the championships before falling to the Panthers in today’s contest.
Middlebury put themselves up 3-0 after hard fought doubles play. While the wins at courts two and three were relatively routine, Elizabeth Stone and Chandra Kurien earned that third point at court one over Wellesley’s Mohona Siddique and Jacqueline Shen in a tiebreak, 9-8(2).
Only needing two singles matches for the victory, Middlebury wrapped up the match in quick time. Kurien and Stone, carrying momentum from their contested doubles match, both took wins at courts two and three. Kurien won 6-1, 6-3 over Siddique, while Stone defeated Shen, 6-3, 6-1.
Middlebury will face off against the Williams/Vassar winner tomorrow at noon.
Middlebury 5, Wellesley 0
Doubles-
1) Stone/Kurien (M) def. Siddique/Shen (W) --- 9-8(2)
2) Burke/Burke (M) def. Schwartzkopf/Ching (W) --- 8-4
3) Haar/Aiello (M) def. Watanabe/Stubblebine (W) --- 8-4
Singles-
1) Victoria Aiello (M) led Marie Watanabe (W) --- 6-3, 5-0
2) Chandra Kurien (M) def. Mohona Siddique (W) ---- 6-1, 6-3
3) Elizabeth Stone (M) def. Jacqueline Shen (W) --- 6-3, 6-1
4) Clare Burke (M) led Jennifer Shcwartzkopf (W) --- 6-4, 4-3
5) Anne Burke (M) vs. Katelyn Ching (W) --- did not start
6)
Jamie Haar (M) vs. Meghan Stubblebine (W) --- did not start
Vassar advances in First Round over Simmons, 6-0
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – No. 21 Vassar College (17-4), coming off their seventh straight Liberty League Championship, defeated Simmons College (11-5) this morning on the Williams College campus in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 6-0. Simmons received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by winning the Great Northeast Athletic Conference title.
Vassar dominated in doubles play to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Nicole Block and Alexis Jacobson of the Brewers took eight straight games to take the match at court three over Simmons’ Jordan Borash and Athene Lynch. Vassar took the wins at courts one and two by 8-4 and 8-2 scores, respectively.
Nicole Pontee, Elizabeth Anderson, and Jamison Steele tallied three quick singles wins. p;nbsp; Pontee dealt her opponent a 6-0, 6-0 result at court one, while Anderson lost only one game in the first set at court five for a 6-1, 6-0 win. Steele finished off her Simmons counterpart in the same score at court six.
Vassar will play Williams College tomorrow at 11:00. The two teams faced off in the fall, and the Ephs took an 8-1 win over Vassar.
Vassar 6, Simmons 0
Doubles-
1) Pontee/Steele (V) def. Kohan/Macleod (S) --- 8-4
2) Backer/Beckerman (V) def. Pope/Taylor (S) --- 8-2
3) Nicole Block/Jacboson (V) def. Borash/Athene Lynch (S) --- 8-0
Singles-
1) Nicole Pontee (V) def. Stacey Kohan (S) --- 6-0, 6-0
2) Jennifer Beckerman (V) led Maile Macleod (S) --- 6-2, 3-0
3) Joy Backer (V) led Maggie Taylor (S) --- 6-0, 5-0
4) Alexis Jacobson (V) led. Katy Hallinan (S) --- 6-2, 1-1
5) Elizabeth Anderson (V) def. Liza Pope (S) --- 6-1, 6-0
6) Jamison Steele (V) def. Jordan Borash (S) --- 6-1, 6-0
Wellesley tops Endicott 5-0 in opening match of First Round
WILIAMSTOWN, MA - Wellesley College (18-5) swept Endicott College (16-2) 5-0 in the opening round of play of the NCAA Tournament at Williams Colelge this monring. The match was played outdoors to determination.
The Blue opened the match by wining all three doubles matches handily.
Wellesley's third dobles team of Marie
Watanabe and Meghan Stubblebine won 8-0 over Kate Fiske and Jenna
Carme, while the second doubles were won by Jen Schwarzkopf and
Katelyn Chung posting an 8-1 win over Kate Cioffi and Allyson
Boehm.
At the top of the doubles ladder The Blue posted an 8-3 win by
Mohona Siddique and Jacqueline Shen as they defeated Nicole
Breiting and Lori wardner.
The two singles wins needed to clinch the victory were provided by Shen at third singles in straight sets over Lori Wardner and Stubblebine at sixth singles who downed Jenna Carme 6-1, 6-2.
Wellesley will face Middlebury College tomorrow monring at 8:00 AM.
