MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – It is a clash of the two unbeaten squads as the No. 2 nationally-ranked Wesleyan women's tennis team (5-0, 4-0 NESCAC West) will vie for a second straight NESCAC title against No. 11 Tufts (6-0, 4-0 NESCAC East) on Saturday. The Cardinals have the luxury of facing the Jumbos at home as the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts serve as the site for the Championship match.

Wesleyan is 5-10 all-time against Tufts but the Cardinals have won four of the past five meetings dating back to 2015, including a 5-1 win over the then-No. 7 ranked Jumbos in their most-recent meeting back on March 31, 2019. Wesleyan sports an all-time record of 3-4 vs. Tufts in matches played at home. The two sides have met just once before in the NESCAC postseason, a 5-4 Tufts victory in the 2008 NESCAC Tournament First Round.

The Cardinals' 2019 NESCAC Championship was the first in program history, as Wesleyan is vying for back-to-back conference titles (there was no 2020 NESCAC Champion – canceled due to COVID-19). Tufts is seeking the program's first NESCAC crown. The winner of Saturday's match earns the NESCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Tournament. Seeding and selection will be announced on Monday, May 10 on NCAA.com.
 

DOUBLES PREVIEW

• As a team, Wesleyan is 13-2 in cumulative doubles matches in the shortened 2021 spring season. Katie Fleischman '23 and Venia Yeung '22 are the expected pairing at #1. The duo owns a 2-2 record this spring but are riding a two-match win streak including an 8-1 victory over No. 4 Middlebury's #1 team (Emily Bian and Ann Martin Skelly).
• Wesleyan has not lost a doubles point at #2 or #3 all season. Polina Kiseleva '21 and Caitlin Goldberg '23 are 3-0 as a team and defeated three ranked teams (No. 16 Williams, No. 7 Amherst, No. 4 Middlebury) in those victories, all ending by identical 8-4 scores.
• The Cardinal #3 team has been a mix-and-match throughout the season (5-0 overall, 4-0 in contested matches). Expect to see Megan Tran '22 and Alexis Almy '22, who were paired in matchups against ranked foes (No. 7 Amherst, No. 4 Middlebury) and dominated with an 8-3 win over Amherst and 8-1 victory against Middlebury.

SINGLES PREVIEW

• Wesleyan has dominated singles play this season, sporting a cumulative 25-5 record through five matches including undefeated 5-0 marks at #3, #5 and #6 in 2021
• The Cardinals have won at least four singles matches in all five matches including 4-2 triumphs over No. 16 Williams and No. 7 Amherst as well as a 5-1 record against No. 4 Middlebury on April 17
• The 2019 NCAA runner-up in singles, Yeung comes in with quite the resume as the junior is a two-time All-American (2018-19 singles, 2019-20 doubles). The Cardinals will lean on her experience as Yeung was a key piece of the Cardinals' run to the NCAA National Championship in 2019.
• Fleischman comes into the NESCAC title match with a 4-1 singles record (3-1 at #2) as the 2019-20 All-American in singles has completely dominated in a four-match singles win streak, sweeping all four matches and losing just 11 games against 48 victories. The sophomore was at her best in matches against ranked foes Anya Ramras of No. 7 Amherst (Fleischman won 6-1, 6-3) and Gena Huang of No. 4 Middlebury (6-0, 6-2).
• Kiseleva has been on the biggest of stages in her career as the now senior won the national-title sealing point and match against CMS as a sophomore back in 2019. She has been dominant with an unblemished 4-0 record in singles play (3-0 at #3, 1-0 at #2) as she has yet to drop a set in four singles matches this spring. Kiseleva's eight total victories (4-0 singles, 4-0 doubles) leads the team.
• Almy has been the primary contributor at #4 this season and comes in with a 2-1 mark in three matches played at #4 against ranked programs. An All-American last season (ranked 15^th nationally), Almy made quick work in her match against No. 16 Williams' Julia Pham, winning 6-0, 6-4 back on April 4 while she gutted out a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) win over Julia Lendel of No. 7 Amherst. Almy could easily be 3-0 this spring as her most-recent singles match ended in a thrilling defeat as she fell to Sami Remis of No. 4 Middlebury by a score of 7-5, 3-6, 12-14.
• The ITA's No. 1 ranked singles player in the Northeast last season and ITA Northeast Rookie of the year in 2019-20 Serim Jin '23 has picked up where she left off and sports a perfect 5-0 record in 2021. Jin has played three of her five matches at #5 while her five singles victories lead the team. She has yet to drop a set in her five singles matches this spring.
• A key contributor this spring, in both the singles and doubles lineup for Wesleyan, has been Goldberg as the sophomore is undefeated in both singles (2-0) and doubles (5-0). Both of Goldberg's singles victories came at #6 against nationally-ranked programs Amherst and Middlebury as she beat Emily Sivarak (Amherst) 4-6, 6-1, 10-2 and Caitlin Neal (Middlebury) 6-3, 6-2.