LEXINGTON, VA — The Williams women’s tennis team (8-2) claimed a 6-3 road win over fifth-ranked Washington and Lee University (15-5) Thursday afternoon, and are now set to return to Williamstown after a successful two week trip along both the east and west coasts.
The Ephs started the afternoon with a strong doubles performance. “It was nice to grab the advantage there and go up 2-1 heading into the singles,” said head coach Alison Swain. “Washington and Lee has some very strong doubles teams.”
Indeed the Williams doubles duo of Grace Baljon ’10 and Taylor French ’12 found themselves in a hole early on against the Generals at number one doubles. Nevertheless, the Ephs mounted an impressive comeback and managed a late break-of-serve to claim a 9-7 win. “It was an excellent win,” remarked Swain.
The Ephs used their momentum from the doubles to cruise through their singles matches as Grace Baljon ’10, Nicole Reich ’11, Lucy Marchese ’11, and Nancy Worley ’13 were off the courts quickly after straight set victories at numbers one, three, four, and five singles.
Swain was quick to comment on the team’s recent accomplishments in California and Virginia. “We played against some of our toughest competition of the season during spring break,” she said. “We had a number of impressive wins, and it’s amazing that we’re playing this well so early in our season.”
The Ephs won six of their seven matches over the past two weeks, including a 6-3 victory over the Emory University Eagles that propelled the team to a #2 national ranking. The team will take on The College of New Jersey in its first home match Saturday, April 10th.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Williams College def. Washington and Lee University 6-3
Doubles:
1) G. Baljon, T. French (Williams) def. L. Caire, E. Yeatman (W&L) 9-7
2) L. Lukas, A. Morris (W&L) def. K. Alotta, N. Reich (Williams) 8-6
3) C. Capute, L. Marchese (Williams) def. J. Snyder, B. Brzeski (W&L) 8-5
Exhibition
4) A. Parsons, N. Worley (Williams) def. S. Griffin, A. Leinweber (W&L) 8-6
Singles:
1) Grace Baljon (Williams) def. Lauren Caire (W&L) 6-1, 6-2
2) Ellen Yeatman (W&L) def. Kristin Alotta (Williams) 7-6(2), 7-6(2)
3) Nicole Reich (Williams) def. Lauren Lukas (W&L) 6-2, 6-2
4) Lucy Marchese (Williams) def. Ann Morris (W&L) 7-5, 6-1
5) Nancy Worley (Williams) def. Jen Snyder (W&L) 6-4, 6-3
6) Blair Brzeski (W&L) def. Ashley Parsons (Williams) 6-2, 7-5
Exhibition
7) Caroline Capute (Williams) def. Sallie Griffin (W&L) 8-4
8) Kathryn Friedman (Williams) def. Christina Douglas (W&L) 8-5
9) Veranika Li (Williams) def. Jen Hall (W&L) 9-7
