FREDERICKSBURG, VA – Seven of the eight players in the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Singles Tournament Quarterfinals were from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Northeast Region (from New Jersey to Maine), four were from NESCAC schools and two were Eph: senior Grace Baljon and sophomore Kristin Alotta. The lone ITA Northeast outsider was Laura Chen from Carnegie Mellon.
Kristin Alotta lined up against Amherst’s Brittany Berkes and though Berkes is a familiar foe for the Ephs, she was not that familiar to Alotta as they had only faced each other once before. Last fall in the Northeast ITA Tournament Alotta got the best of Berkes, but today Berkes reversed that result. Experience won out as Berkes notched 7-5, 6-4 win over Alotta.
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| Kristin Alotta '12 |
“I thought Kristin played solid tennis today, but Brittany was just a little more aggressive on some key points and took the match,” said Eph head coach Alison Swain. “It was a close match and it was well-played. I think seniors who have been here before definitely have an advantage in this tournament as they know their careers are ending, but Kristin has a lot to be proud of, especially making the final eight as a sophomore. That is a wonderful accomplishment for her first time on the national stage.”
In her two-year Eph career Alotta has rattled off an impressive 57 wins against just six losses (5 in Division III). Her winning percentage is a gaudy .905.
In her first match of the day Grace Baljon was up against a familiar foe in Nicole Pontee of Vassar. Last fall in the first dual match of the year Baljon prevailed over Pontee in three sets, after having dropped the first set. Today it was Baljon winning the first set via a tiebreaker 7-6(7-3). Baljon then dropped the second set 6-3, before rolling to a 6-2 win in the third set.
“I pulled out the first set somehow,” said Baljon. “But in the second set I had never had an experience where my opponent hit so many winners off my serve. I was shocked, but I just had to try and figure it out for the third set.”
Baljon made a successful adjustment to win the third set 6-2. “I just wanted to get one more ball in and maybe frustrate her and get an opportunity to hit some winners… and it worked!”
Making her second career semifinals appearance (2008) Baljon faced Jackie Shtembeg from The College of New Jersey. Shtemberg had defeated Baljon in a dual match singles encounter earlier this spring at Williams.
Today Shtemberg cruised to a 6-1 first set win, but Baljon recovered to win the second set 6-2 to set the stage for a decisive third set. “After the first set I just kept saying to myself -- I don’t want to go home yet, I don’t want to go home yet…” stated Baljon. “I also told myself that I had to get every point and every game I could to turn this match around. Basically, I just started playing my game.”
Baljon’s pep talk was just what she needed to take the final two sets and the match.
Shtemberg held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set, but Baljon again found a way to bounce back and took the next two games to take a 3-2 lead. With the match tied 4-4, Baljon dug deep one more time and won the next two games to win the match and become the second Eph to play for the national singles title.
Even though she trailed early in the third set Baljon was confident she could come out on top. “The third set was just going to come down to who could get the most balls in play and today I did,” she said.
Cary Gibson ’09 was the first Eph to advance to the NCAA Singles finals in 2008, the same year Baljon made her first trip to the semifinals.
Baljon now has a chance to become the first Eph to win the NCAA Singles crown.
In Sunday’s 12:00 PM finals Baljon will face yet another familiar opponent in Tufts’ Julia Browne who beat Brittany Berkes of Amherst in straight sets to advance.
According to Baljon, “Julia and I have played a million times and I’ve never beaten her. Tomorrow there is no pressure on me at all, so I’m just going to go out and enjoy playing my last college match and see what happens.”
“Grace is a great talent who also has a huge heart and the will and determination to win,” said Swain. “This is day six of NCAA competition for her and she just brings it every time … people don’t just do that. She’s by far the most accomplished player at Williams and also the most deserving of all the accolades she has earned.”
