NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Despite a hard-fought battle today by the
Wellesley tennis team, the Blue ended the fall season with a 5-2
loss to Wheaton in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic
Conference Championship match. The Lyons picked up their
second-straight title at the event held on the campus of Smith
College.
Wheaton (12-1) held a 2-1 lead after doubles play, netting an
8-2 win at No. 1 with the duo of Catherine Teague and Sarah
Geocaris defeating Jacqueline Shen and
Diana Granger, 8-2, while Madison Hartley and
Lyndsay Cooke won at No. 2 doubles, topping the Wellesley pair of
Erica Choo and Kendall Tada, 8-1.
The Blue (8-3) earned their point at No. 3 when Raji
Nagalla and Nathalie Herman beat
Ellen Van Faasen and Allesandra DiOrio, 8-2.
Wheaton added wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles thanks to
victories from Van Faasen's 6-1, 6-4 win over Morgan
Johnstonbaugh at No. 6, and Cooke's 6-3, 6-0 triumph
over Herman at No. 3. Granger edged out Hartley at No. 5 for
the Blue's remaining point, 6-1, 6-4.
Teague, who earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player
honors, then clinched the match for Wheaton with a 7-5, 6-4 win
over Shen at No. 1 singles, battling back from a 4-1 deficit in the
second set.
Wellesley, who finished as the NEWMAC runner-up for the second
season in a row, returns to action in the spring with a full
schedule including the 2011 Seven Sisters Championship.