LEXINGTON, Va. – For the fourth straight season, the No. 3 nationally ranked Wesleyan women's tennis team will be competing in the NCAA Quarterfinal (Elite 8) round. The Cardinals earned their spot with a 5-2 win over No. 15 Mary Washington on Sunday afternoon from the campus of Washington & Lee. Next up for Wesleyan (22-0) is a rematch of last year's NCAA title match, as the Cardinals are set to meet No. 8 Emory for the second time this season on Monday, May 23 (time TBD).
Wesleyan's storybook, undefeated season continued on despite being tested by the Eagles throughout long stages of the match. In doubles play,
Renna Mohsen-Breen '25 and
Kristina Yu '22 continued to roll in an 8-4 take down of Hana Kimmey and Emily Beckner at #3. Wesleyan won by the same score line at #2 as
Sophie Henderson '22 and
Nika Vesely '25 defeated Claire Coleman and Amanda Hagino.
The #1 doubles match was a battle throughout but
Caitlyn Ferrante '23 and
Sasha Gaeth '23 had just enough to get past Abby Moghtader and Lauren Quinn 8-7 (7-5) in a tiebreak, securing a 3-0 lead for Wesleyan heading into singles play.
That tiebreak win for Ferrante/Gaeth proved vital in the end as the Eagles gave the Cardinals all they could handle in singles. Mohsen-Breen was the only Cardinal to win in straight sets and she did so convincingly, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kimmey at #5.
Now leading 4-0 in the match, Wesleyan's wait for a clinching point continued on as Mary Washington responded with a pair of victories. The first came at #6 where Beckner defeated Gaeth 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 before Quinn came back from down a set to win the final two over
Katie Fleischman '23 at #3: 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
With three more singles matches still underway, incredibly all three entered a third set but it was Ferrante who pulled through in the end, defeating Moghtader 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 to clinch the match for the Cardinals.
Wesleyan is now 2-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against Mary Washington. Up next is a showdown with the reigning NCAA Champion Emory on Monday, May 23 in Orlando.
