WORCESTER, Mass. – Wellesley College tennis won for the fourth straight match on Tuesday evening, defeating host Clark University, 9-0, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at the Corash Tennis Courts.
The Blue, who have also won five of the team's last six matches, improved to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in conference matches. Clark slides to 2-8 overall and 0-2 NEWMAC.
Wellesley sophomore Lily Chu (Princeton, N.J.) and first year partner Cinji Lee (Seoul, South Korea) got the match started with an 8-0 sweep of the No. 3 doubles match over juniors Chloe Dunnell (Montclair, N.J.) and Kathryn Benson (Huston, Mass.). Playing No. 1 doubles for the third time this year, first year Libby Chang (San Marino, Calif.) and junior Selina Peng (Taichung, Taiwan) improved to 2-1 with an 8-3 win over sophomore Jillian Skulsky (Marshfield, Mass.) and senior Maggie Tarbox (Lebanon, Conn.).
Wellesley senior Rosanne Hu (Sugar Land, Texas) and first year Michelle Shen (Dallas, Texas) closed out the doubles sweep with a victory at No. 2, defeating junior Anna Gates (North Scituate, R.I.) and sophomore Elizabeth Garfield (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), 8-3. The Blue would head into singles play with a 3-0 lead, where Peng would face the toughest test in a three-set match at No. 2.
Sophomore Michelle Buyer (Wilmette, Ill.) topped Tarbox, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4, before classmate Abigail Schleichkorn (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over first year Lily Meadows (Bradenton, Fla.) at No. 6. Two-set wins by Chang at No. 3, first year Michaela Markwart (Hanover, Mass.) at No. 1, and senior Sojin Ki (Irvine, Calif.) at No. 4 put the Blue up 8-0.
Peng dropped her first set to Gates, 2-6, at No. 2. She responded in the second set, earning a 6-3 win. The two then battled back-and-forth in a third-set superbreaker, before Peng took a late advantage and secured the final two points in a 10-8 set win to clinch the 9-0 Wellesley match win.
Wellesley will travel to Brandeis University for a non-conference match on Friday, April 5, at 3:00 PM. Clark will now look ahead to NEWMAC action on Saturday, April 6, when the Cougars will host MIT at 2:30 PM.
NCAA Division III Week is an annual week-long celebration of Division III student-athletes and the impact they have on Division III campuses and in their surrounding communities. This year, NCAA Division III Week begins on Monday, April 1 and continues until Sunday, April 7. For more information, visit wellesleyblue.com/x/80miv.
