Wellesley, MA - On day one of the 2007 New England Women's and
Men's
Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Tennis Championships, host
Wellesley
College and MIT both defeated their semi-final opponents to advance
to
tomorrow's championship at Wellesley.
The Blue are aiming for their fourth straight NEWMAC Championship
after
coming into the tournament as the top seed. Meanwhile,
second-seeded MIT
looks to avenge a 6-3 regular-season loss to Wellesley.
Quarterfinals
In the first quarterfinal of the day, fifth-seeded Wheaton
College
dominated the number four seed, Smith College, 5-1. Wheaton
jumped out to
a 2-1 lead after doubles and then took three singles matches to
take the
decision.
At number one doubles, the Wheaton team of Catherine
Teague and Sarah
Geocaris took their match 8-4. The Lyon's got a second
doubles point in
the third flight with Elly Van Faasen and Chelsea Cordes teaming up
for an
8-2 win.
In singles, Geocaris picked up her second win of the
morning with a 6-2,
6-2 victory at number two. Wheaton then picked up points at
the third
flight where Katie Kneis was a 6-2, 6-0 winner and at the fifth
flight
where Maya Milic-Strkalj sealed the victory with a 6-4, 6-0
win.
Smith earned it's lone point of the day at number two
doubles where
Catherine Hill/Lydecker and Alanna Dick paired up to earn an 8-3
victory.
Playing in the second quarterfinal, #3 Babson College
was a 5-1 winner
over #6 Mount Holyoke College. The Beavers swept doubles and
then won two
out of the first three finished singles matches for the
victory.
In doubles play, Heather Walsh and Courtney Farrell
eeked out a 9-7 win
over Natalie Hsiang and Meaghan Sloane at the number one flight
while
Jessica Huang and Kali Hogan were 8-4 winners for Babson at number
two.
In the third doubles flight, Lorena Becerra and Jamie Burke teamed
up for
a quick 8-2 win.
In singles action, Babson clinched the win with victories at the
third and
fifth flights. Heather Walsh was a 6-3, 6-1 winner while
Lorena Becerra
took her match 6-1, 6-1.
Semi-finals
Top-seeded Wellesley downed Wheaton 5-0 in the day's
first semi-final
match. The Blue swept doubles and then picked up two singles
decisions to
take the match and advance to tomorrow's final.
Jen Schwarzkopf and Jacqueline Shen picked up an 8-4
win in the first
doubles flight while Trish Devine and co-captain Hali Walther
paired up
for an easy 8-1 win at number two. Picking up the third
doubles point,
Meghan Stubblebine and Shivani Saxena were 8-2 winners.
In singles, Wellesley got wins from Shen (6-2, 6-0) at
number four and
Stubblebine (6-2, 6-2) at number five to complete the 5-0
sweep.
In the day's final match, second-seeded MIT advanced
to the championship
with a 502 victory over Babson. MIT took a 2-1 lead after
doubles and
then won three out of the four singles decisions for the win.
At number one doubles, MIT's Leslie Hansen and Mariah
Hoover cruised to
an 8-2 win while at number three Karina Pikhart and Melissa Diskin
paired
up for an 8-6 win that gave MIT a 2-0 lead. In a tight match
at number
two doubles, Babson got on the board with a 9-7 win from Jessica
Huang and
Kali Hogan.
In singles play, Babson got a 6-0, 6-0 win from
Jessica Huang at number
four singles but MIT took matches at number one, number two and
number
five for the victory. Leslie Hansen was a 6-1, 6-3 winner,
Liz Denys
picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win and Melissa Diskin's 6-4, 6-1 win sealed
the
victory for MIT.
Tomorrow's championship match is slated for 11:00 am on the campus
of
Wellesley College.
2007 NEWMAC Championships
Quarterfinals
#5 Wheaton def. #4 Smith, 5-1
Doubles
1. Teague/Geocaris (W) def. Kikuchi/Fiumefreddo (S),
8-4
2. Hill-Lydecker/Dick (S) def. Milrc-Strkalj/Knies
(W), 8-3
3. Van Faasen/Cordes (W) def. Seiki Fujii/Tina Jackson
(S), 8-2
Singles
1. Catherine Teague (W) vs. Miyu Kikuchi (S), DNF
2. Sarah Geocaris (W) def. Dianne Fiumefreddo (S),
6-2, 6-2
3. Katie Kneis (W) def. Seiko Fujii (S), 6-2, 6-0
4. Elly Van Faasen (W) vs. Catherine Hill-Lydecker,
DNF
5. Maya Milic-Strkalj (W) def. Nikki Anderson (S),
6-4, 6-0
6. Chelsea Cordes (W) vs. Mindy Chu (S), DNP
*7. Bethany Pine (W) def. Jacqui Sager (S), 8-5
*Exhibition
#3 Babson def. #6 Mount Holyoke, 5-1
Doubles
1. Walsh/Farrell (B) def. Hsiang/Sloane (M), 9-7
2. Huang/Hogan (B) def. London/Hartmann (M), 8-4
3. Becerra/Jamie Burke (B) def. Gresko/Tighe (M),
8-3
Singles
1. Courtney Farrell (B) vs. Natalie Hsiang (M),
DNF
2. Meaghan Sloane (M) def. Kali Hogan (B), 6-1,
6-4
3. Heather Walsh (B) def. Elizabeth Tighe (M), 6-3,
6-1
4. Jessica Huang (B) vs. Sarah London (M), DNF
5. Lorena Becerra (B) def. Beatrix Hartmann (M), 6-1,
6-1
6. Liz Sheerin (B) vs. Eleni Scordilis (M), DNF
Semifinals
#1 Wellesley def. #5 Wheaton, 5-0
Doubles
1. Schwarzkopf/Shen (WEL) def. Teague/Geocaris (WHE),
8-4
2. Devine/Hali Walther (WEL) def. Hill-Lydecker (WHE),
8-1
3. Stubblebine/Saxena (WEL) def. Van Faasen/Cordes
(WHE), 8-2
Singles
1. Schwarzkopf (WEL) vs. Catherine Teague (WHE),
DNF
2. Devine (WEL) vs. Sarah Geocaris (WHE), DNF
3. Saxena (WEL) vs. Katie Kneis (WHE), DNF
4. Shen (WEL) def. Elly Van Faasen (WHE), 6-2, 6-0
5. Stubblebine (WEL) def. Maya Milic-Strkalj (WHE),
6-2, 6-2
6. Jenny Kendall (WEL) vs Chelsea Cordes (WHE),
DNP
#2 MIT def. #3 Babson, 5-2
Doubles
1. Hanson/Hoover (M) def. Walsh/Farrell (B), 8-2
2. Huang/Hogan (B) def. McCree/Denys (M), 9-7
3. Pikhart/Diskin (M) def. Becerra/Jamie Burke (B),
8-6
Singles
1. Leslie Hanson (M) def. Courtney Farrell (B), 6-1,
6-3
2. Liz Denys (M) def. Kali Hogan (B), 6-1, 6-0
3. Mariah Hoover (M) vs. Heather Walsh (B), DNF
4. Jessica Huang (B) def. Yi Wang (M), 6-0, 6-0
5. Melissa Diskin (M) def. Lorena Becerra (B), 6-4,
6-1
6. Anisa McCree (M) vs. Liz Sheerin (B), DNF