October 25, 2009

Wheaton Captures NEWMAC Women's Tennis Crown

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Wheaton College has won the 2009 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Tennis Championship today at the duPont Tennis Courts on the campus of MIT. The two-day event concluded with the top-seeded Lyons overcoming the #2 Blue of Wellesley College to capture this year's trophy. This year marks the first time that Wheaton has won either the regular season or tournament crown and snaps a five-year streak in which Wellesley had won both titles.

Wheaton hoped to repeat earlier success by playing the same lineup as during its regular season match against Wellesley. Looking to avoid the disappointing 7-2 loss it had previously incurred, Wellesley made some minor changes, which served to even the competition. The Blue's #2 pair of Marie Watanabe and Meghan Stubblebine dominated their match [8-1] to fend off a Wheaton sweep of doubles. Lyons Sarah Geocaris and Catherine Teague picked up the #1 match and Ellen Van Faasen and Roz Chesky won at #3 to give Wheaton a 2-1 lead through the first three matches.

In singles action, the teams appeared more evenly matched than expected. When Wellesley's Jacqueline Shen clinched the #3 match [6-1, 6-1], Wheaton's Geocaris won at #1 [6-2, 6-2]. Shortly after Lyon Chesky picked up the #6 spot [6-1, 6-3], the Blue's Subblebine closed out the #4 position [6-4, 6-3]. Wheaton held a 4-3 lead, needing just one of the final two points to claim victory.

With the crowd on edge and growing anxious, Wellesley's Nathalie Herman lost her first set in the #5 match against Katherine Knies but rallied to pick up the second. In the deciding set, Herman kept her momentum and won the match [1-6, 6-2, 6-2], silencing the Wheaton fans and electrifying Wellesley's.

In the #2 match, the championship came down to Wheaton's Teague and Wellesley's Mahona Siddique. Fans closed in on the court to watch as the two were tied at 4-4 in the deciding set. With the pressure bearing down, Teague held strong and won the final two games to clinch the match [4-6, 7-5, 6-4] and the team championship.

Following the match, Wellesley and Wheaton were congratulated for their performance this season. Seniors from both teams were recognized before the trophy was delivererd to Coach Lynn Miller, currently in her 30th year at the helm of the Lyons' tennis program. The championship is the first for Wheaton College women's tennis since the NEWMAC formed in 1998. All-conference voting and other awards will be decided at Tuesday's coaches
meeting.