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Wesleyan University

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Women's Tennis 2021 NESCAC Championship
Maxx McNall/Wesleyan
3
Tufts TUFTS (6-1, 4-0 NESCAC W)
6
Winner Wesleyan WES (6-0, 4-0 NESCAC W)
Tufts TUFTS
(6-1, 4-0 NESCAC W)
3
Final
6
Wesleyan WES
(6-0, 4-0 NESCAC W)
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis |

No. 2 Women’s Tennis Captures Second Straight NESCAC Championship in 6-3 Win over No. 11 Tufts

Cardinals go back-to-back behind a stellar effort that saw Polina Kiseleva '21 come-from-behind in her singles match to seal the Wesleyan victory

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In a battle of two undefeated teams and undoubtedly the top two programs in the NESCAC, Saturday's conference title match was tightly contested throughout but in the end, it was No. 2 nationally-ranked Wesleyan who came out on top with a 6-3 win over No. 11 Tufts. Wesleyan pulled out a key win at #3 doubles that went into a deciding tiebreak, setting the stage for singles play which was clinched late after Polina Kiseleva '21 battled back in the second set to seal victory for herself and the Cardinals.



These two evenly-matched programs ran through their respective regular seasons with the one common opponent being No. 4 Middlebury – whom both teams defeated by identical 7-2 scores. This title match victory marks the second straight NESCAC Championship for Wesleyan as the Cardinals have now gone back-to-back. With the conference crown, Wesleyan earns an automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will await to hear where they will travel in the regional round.
 
Venia Yeung celebration with teammates
Cardinals celebrate with Venia Yeung '22 following her come-from-behind win at #1 singles
HIGHLIGHTS:
  • Kiseleva combined with Caitlin Goldberg '23 in doubles at #2 to set the tone early for Wesleyan as the pairing remained unbeaten as a team, defeating Casey Cummings and Tilly Rigby of Tufts 8-5 to claim the first point of the match
  • The battle at #1 was a fierce one as Maggie Dorr and Caroline Garrido held off Venia Yeung '22 and Katie Fleischman '23, 8-6, to knot the score at 1-1
  • In a thrilling match, the #3 battle was all Tufts early as Maddie Suk and Patricia Obeid went out in front 5-2 only to see Alexis Almy '22 and Megan Tran '22 battle all the way back to send the match into a tiebreak. In that deciding tiebreak, the Cardinals swept every point, 7-0, to claim the match and head into singles with a 2-1 advantage
  • The match teetered back-and-forth throughout a near three-hour long singles portion of play as the two sides were evenly matched throughout. Serim Jin '23 increased Wesleyan's advantage with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at #5 as the sophomore kept her unblemished record in-tact, moving to 6-0 on the season and giving Wesleyan the 3-1 lead
  • Tufts, however, was quick to respond as Cummings battled Almy to a 6-4 first set win and then dominated in the second set 6-1 to claim the Jumbos' first singles victory and make it 3-2 Cardinals
  • Fleischman continued her season-long domination at #2 as she was a marvel throughout, defeating Dorr by a near-clean sweep as she won 6-1, 6-1. For the season, Fleischman has won five straight singles matches and has dropped more than one game in a set just three times in her last 12 sets played
  • Just when the Cardinals moved to within one singles victory away from clinching the title, Tufts answered at #6 to keep the match alive as Zoe Kava took down Goldberg in a second set tiebreak 6-3, 7-6 to make it 4-3 Wesleyan
  • Thankfully for Wesleyan, the Cardinals still involved in matches were not shy to a big stage as Kiseleva at #3 won the match-deciding point that won Wesleyan the 2019 NCAA National Championship while Yeung at #1 was the NCAA Individual Runner-Up in the 2019 campaign
  • Both Kiseleva and Yeung won the first set of their respective match but Rigby won the second set at #1 while Suk was serving for the second set at #3. Needing to stave off the Tufts rally attempt, Kiseleva stepped up in a big way as she broke Suk's serve, making it 5-5 in the second set, and the senior went on to win her service game followed by another break of Suk to win the match and seal the Wesleyan victory
  • Looking to finish off the match, Yeung trailed Rigby 4-1 in the third set but kept her spirits up and went on a thunderous run that saw her win five straight games to end the match and seal a huge win at #1 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Polina Kiseleva celebrates her match victory
Polina Kiseleva following her win at #3 singles, sealing Wesleyan's victory and second straight NESCAC title
Doubles
  • #1: Dorr/Garrido (TUFTS) def. Fleischman/Yeung (WES) 8-6
  • #2: Kiseleva/Goldberg (WES) def. Cummings/Rigby (TUFTS) 8-5
  • #3: Almy/Tran (WES) def. Suk/Obeid (TUFTS) 8-7 (7-0)
Singles
  • #1: Yeung (WES) def. Rigby (TUFTS) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
  • #2: Fleischman (WES) def. Dorr (TUFTS) 6-1, 6-1
  • #3: Kiseleva (WES) def. Suk (TUFTS) 6-4, 7-5
  • #4: Cummings (TUFTS) def. Almy (WES) 6-4, 6-1
  • #5: Jin (WES) def. Frankel (TUFTS) 6-3, 6-2
  • #6: Kava (TUFTS) def. Goldberg (WES) 6-3, 7-5
UP NEXT:
The reigning NCAA Champions await to hear of their regional placement in 2021 as the Cardinals are set for NCAA Regional play next weekend. Match date and opponent will be announced on Monday.
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