October 25, 2008

Third-Seeded Wheaton Blanks Number-Six Smith, 5-0 in First Round of NEWMAC Women's Tennis Tournament

SOUTH HADLEY, MA- The third-seeded Wheaton College women's tennis team blanked number-six Smith College, 5-0 during the opening round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Saturday at Mount Holyoke College, qualifying for the semifinals for the second straight season.

The Lyons, who also downed the Pioneers in the first round of last year's NEWMAC Tournament, improved to 11-2, recording the program's highest win total in a fall season since 1999. Smith fell to 2-6 on the year.

Wheaton will take on five-time defending runner-up Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the second seed, in Sunday's semifinal round at 9:30 a.m. A victory would propel the Lyons into their initial conference tournament final since 1991 later in the afternoon.

Three Blue and White doubles tandems notched victories, putting the Lyons in position to clinch the match early in singles action. Sophomores Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) notched an 8-2 win at the first spot, junior Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) and freshman Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, RI/Lincoln School) collected an 8-1 triumph at two, and senior Mallory Farmer (Washington, CT/The Gunnery) sided with sophomore Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) for an 8-5 victory in the third position.

During singles play, Geocaris and Van Faasen were the lone Lyons to complete their matches, though four others had one-set leads before the match was halted. Geocaris won by a 6-3, 6-0 decision at one, and Van Faasen collected a 6-0, 6-1 win in the fourth spot.

Teague was leading, 6-3, 5-0 at two, DiOrio held a 6-3, 2-0 advantage in the third slot, Knies led by a 6-1, 3-1 count at five, and Farmer led, 6-1, 5-0 at six.