HARRISONBURG, VA— The second-ranked Williams College women’s tennis team (7-2) came out strong against Division-I opponent James Madison University (7-7) Wednesday afternoon, but at the end of the day it was the Dukes that claimed a 5-2 victory over the Ephs. It was the Ephs’ first defeat of 2010.
“I’m proud of the way the girls competed today,” said head coach Alison Swain. “Overall this was an excellent match experience for us.”
The Ephs started the afternoon well, winning both the number one and number two doubles matches to take a 1-0 overall lead heading into the singles matches. “We played really strong doubles today,” commented Swain. “It was great for us to take the doubles point against a D-I team.”
But James Madison fought back in the singles matches and gave the Ephs some of the tougher matches they’ve faced this season. “When we scheduled James Madison we were excited to play a team that would push us in all our singles matches, and they did,” said Swain. “But like I said, I’m proud of the way we competed.”
Of special note today was the singles play of Nancy Worley ’13, playing in her first match at number five singles. “It was great to see her pull out her first win there,” said Swain. Worley defeated James Madison’s Michelle Nguyen 6-4, 7-5.
The Ephs have a quick turnaround before their next match, which will take place tomorrow in Lexington, Virginia against the 5th ranked Washington and Lee University Generals. The Generals are currently ranked fifth in the country.
COMPLETE RESULTS
James Madison University def. Williams College 5-2
Doubles:
1) G. Baljon, T. French (Williams) def. K. Bulling, K. Pate (JMU) 8-3
2) K. Alotta, N. Reich (Williams) def. R. Erickson, K. Nimitz (JMU) 8-4
3) M. Douglass, M. Nguyen (JMU) def. C. Capute, L. Marchese (Williams) 8-3
Exhibition
4) I. Donner, K. Maxwell (JMU) def. K. Friedman, V. Li (Williams) 8-7(5)
Singles:
1) Katherine Bulling (JMU) def. Grace Baljon (Williams) 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2
2) Kinsey Pate (JMU) def. Kristin Alotta (Williams) 6-3, 6-4
3) Rebecca Erickson (JMU) def. Nikki Reich (Williams) 6-3, 6-4
4) Megan Douglass (JMU) def. Lucy Marchese (Williams) 7-6(5), 7-5
5) Nancy Worley (Williams) def. Michelle Nguyen (JMU) 6-4, 7-5
6) Kristin Nimitz (JMU) def. Ashley Parsons (Williams) 6-1, 6-3.
Exhibition
7) Caroline Capute (Williams) def. Kelly Maxwell (JMU) 8-5
8) Kathryn Friedman (Williams) def. Ida Donner (JMU) 8-0
