MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In what was the first meeting between these two regional powers, with both teams utilizing a full roster, since the 2019 NESCAC Championship, the No. 5 nationally ranked Wesleyan women's tennis team earned an impressive 7-2 victory over No. 8 Middlebury on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (9-0, 4-0 NESCAC) continues on their unbeaten run in the dual match season, moving to 4-0 against Top 25 opponents, while the Panthers (6-4, 2-1) lose for the first time in NESCAC play.
Facing their second Top 10 ranked opponent in less than a week's time, Wesleyan managed to pull through a stellar performance which began in doubles play as
Caitlyn Ferrante '23 and
Sasha Gaeth '23 pulled out a crucial 7-3 victory in a tiebreak at #1 to defeat Amy Delman and Gena Huang 8-7 in a result that set the tone for the duration of the match. Ferrante and Gaeth are now 5-0 on the season as a doubles team.
Wesleyan went 2-0 up on Middlebury in team scoring as
Venia Yeung '22 and
Katie Fleischman '23 combined for an 8-6 win at #3, defeating Sahana Raman and Nathalie van derReis to secure the advantage heading into singles. Middlebury was able to secure a point in #2 as Sami Remis and Brinlea La Barge took down
Nika Vesely '25 and
Sophie Henderson '22 by an 8-5 score.
Leading by one heading into singles, Wesleyan saw the Panthers manage another victory, this time at #4 to tie the score at 2 apiece. But after that first singles match that finished, it was all Wesleyan in the remaining five matches as the Cardinals dropped just one set combined through the five courts.
Fleischman added her second win of the day, moving to 6-1 in singles dual matches as she posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over Delman at #3 to move the Cardinals back out in front. Vesely shook off the defeat in doubles and dominated her singles match at #2, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win over La Barge to put Wesleyan just one point away from the match victory.
The clinching point came from Ferrante at #1 as she rebounded after losing the first set 6-4 to Raman as she went on to win the following two sets 6-2, 6-3 to secure the fifth Cardinal point and a win over Middlebury.
Two more Wesleyan points came in for good measure as
Serim Jin '23 toppled van derReis 6-4, 6-4 at #5 while
Kristina Yu '22 earned a 7-6, 6-1 win over Amanda Frank at #6 to give the Cardinals five matches on the spin to close out a landmark home victory.
Wesleyan looks to continue their unbeaten run in the dual season on Saturday as the Cardinals take on No. 18 Williams at 2 PM. A win over the Ephs would secure Wesleyan their third Little 3 title in as many competitive seasons.
