For Immediate Release
October 25, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Wheaton Edges Wellesley Tennis in NEWMAC Championship
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Wheaton College edged Wellesley in a thrilling 5-4 match to capture the 2009 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 second-seeded Blue to capture this year's trophy.
Wellesley advanced to the Championship by virtue of a 5-2 win over MIT in the semifinal match earlier in the day, while Wheaton defeated Smith, 5-0 to advance.
In the Championship, Wheaton jumped out to a 2-1 lead in 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. The Blue's #2 pair of Marie Watanabe and Meghan Stubblebine dominated their match [8-1] to fend off a Wheaton sweep.
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.
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.
SEMIFINAL #2
#6 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3-4) v. #2 Wellesley College (6-1)
WEL 5, MIT 2
Doubles
1. L. Hansen/A. Vishnevetsky (MIT) def. J. Shen/M. Siddique (WEL) 8-2
2. M. Watanabe/M. Stubblebine (WEL) def. A. McCree/M. Diskin (MIT) 8-2
3. N. Herman/S. Chu (WEL) def. H. Jenny/A. Hall (MIT) 8-6
Singles
1. Marie Watanabe (WEL) v. Leslie Hansen (MIT) 7-6(11-9), 1-2 [halted]
2. Anastasia Vishnevetsky (MIT) def. Mohona Siddique (WEL) 6-3, 6-3
3. Jacqueline Shen (WEL) def. Anisa McCree (MIT) 6-0, 6-0
4. Meghan Stubblebine (WEL) def. Melissa Diskin (MIT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Nathalie Herman (WEL) v. Alex Hall (MIT) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 [halted]
6. Julia Cole (WEL) def. Hillary Jenny (MIT) 6-4, 6-3
#2 Wellesley College (6-1) v. #1 Wheaton College (6-1)
WHE 5, WEL 4
Doubles
1. S. Geocaris/C. Teague (WHE) def. J. Shen/M. Siddique (WEL) 8-5
2. M. Watanabe/M. Stubblebine (WEL) def. A. DiOrio/K. Knies (WHE) 8-1
3. E. Van Faasen/R. Chesky (WHE) def. N. Herman/S. Chu (WEL) 8-2
Singles
1. Sarah Geocaris (WHE) def. Marie Watanabe (WEL) 6-2, 6-2
2. Catherine Teague (WHE) def. Mohona Siddique (WEL) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Jacqueline Shen (WEL) def. Ellen Van Faasen (WHE) 6-1, 6-1
4. Meghan Stubblebine (WEL) def. Allesandra DiOrio (WHE) 6-4, 6-3
5. Nathalie Herman (WEL) def. Katherine Knies (WHE) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Roz Chesky (WHE) def. Julia Cole (WEL) 6-1, 6-3