MIDDLETOWN. Conn. – Coming off a very successful first two matches of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the No. 2 nationally-ranked Wesleyan women's tennis team heads into the national quarterfinal round with a matchup set for Monday at 8:30 AM against No. 18 Washington & Lee. The match will take place at the Tennis Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennesseee. The Cardinals are in the midst of their national title defense as Wesleyan went on a thrilling run for the first national title in program history back in 2019.
In lieu of top-seeded programs serving as host sites for NCAA First through Third Round play, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the selection committee to shift to predetermined sites for opening round play in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Rather than serving as host, Wesleyan traveled down to Rome, Georgia for the start of the national tournament and dominated both of their Second and Third Round opponents.
Wesleyan (8-0) began its title defense on Friday with a Second Round match against the 2021 Landmark Conference Champion Moravian. In what was the first all-time meeting between the two programs, Wesleyan thoroughly dominated play as the Cardinals swept the three doubles points by a cumulative score line of 24-2 while singles play was even more dominating, as Wesleyan dropped just three total games in the six combined matches before the clinching point was made. That 5-0 triumph for the Cardinals signaled the fifth consecutive contested season Wesleyan has won at least one NCAA Tournament match.
It was more of the same for the Cardinals in the Third Round match as Wesleyan cruised past No. 23 Linfield, 5-0, to advance to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight contested season. The 5-0 sweep represented the sixth 5-0 victory for Wesleyan in an NCAA Tournament match and the first-ever for the Cardinals in the Third Round or later. In another first all-time meeting, Wesleyan dominated much to the extend they did in the win over Moravian as the Cardinals again swept all three doubles points, this time by a combined 24-5 margin. In the singles portion, both
Venia Yeung '22 and
Katie Fleischman '23 dropped just three games apiece as the 2021 All-NESCAC First Team selections won the fourth and fifth points to clinch the match for Wesleyan.
The Cardinals are 8-0 so far in 2021 and are riding a 12-match win streak dating back to the 2018-19 season. Wesleyan has defeated ranked opponents in five of their eight total matches (Williams 6-3, Amherst 7-2, Middlebury 7-2, Tufts 6-3 and Linfield 5-0) played this season. This is Wesleyan's fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance – all of which have come under ninth-year head coach
Mike Fried. Coach Fried has transformed the program in his time at the helm as Wesleyan had qualified for the NCAA Tournament just once prior to his arrival. He helped lead the Cardinals to the program's first-ever national title – the first female team sport to win an NCAA Championship in school history – in 2019 that featured 5-4 upset wins over national powers Emory and Claremont Mudd-Scripps in the semifinal and championship rounds. Yeung,
Alexis Almy '22 and
Kristina Yu '22 were all major contributors in that title run two years ago and are back to help lead the Cardinals in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Looking ahead to next week's quarterfinal matchup, the Cardinals are set to take on No. 18 ranked Washington & Lee, which represents a third straight first-time opponent for Wesleyan. The Generals made it to the Elite 8 following a 5-1 Second Round win over TCNJ, followed by a 5-2 Third Round victory over No. 24 Denison on Sunday. Washington & Lee has a storied history in women's tennis as the Generals are making their 27
th NCAA Tournament appearance while this is the first quarterfinal appearance the team has made since 2011. The Generals have advanced to the national title match six times in the program's history, winning their first NCAA Championship with a 5-2 win over Amherst in 2007. Washington & Lee have won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference 17 straight seasons.
The winner of Monday's Quarterfinal match will advance to the NCAA Semifinals on Tuesday and will face the winner of No. 12 Kenyon vs. No. 15 Mary Washington.
Wesleyan looks to advance to just the second NCAA Final 4 appearance in program history
