MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – In a rematch of the 2022 NESCAC Championship match, Sunday's dual between two of the best teams in the nation came down to a third set tiebreak in the deciding singles match. After taking an initial lead in the tiebreak, Middlebury (6-1, 4-0 NESCAC) came storming back to take the decider and the match, 5-4. No. 4 Wesleyan (9-1, 4-1 NESCAC) suffers their first defeat of the season while the Cardinals' 39-match regular season winning streak comes to an end.
That deciding singles match came well over four hours into the match that started at 10:00 AM, as
Sarah Youngberg '26 was locked in a battle with Gena Huang. Youngberg lost the first set 6-2, only to come back and take the second set 6-4. With all other singles matches settled and the team score tied 4-4, all eyes were on this match as Huang came out strong in the third set, taking a 4-1 lead. Youngberg, however, broke back and the two traded games up until a tiebreak was needed. Riding the momentum, Youngberg led initially 2-1 in the tiebreak, but Huang came through with a 6-1 run that clinched the point and the match for the Panthers.
Setting the stage for that deciding match, Middlebury came out firing with an 8-4 doubles win at #1 before Wesleyan answered back with a 8-6 win at #2 as
Caitlyn Ferrante '23 and
Nika Vesely '25 toppled Amy Delman and Brinlea La Barge. Moving to #3, a crucial point went Middlebury's way as Sami Remis and Nina Farhat won 8-6 to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead heading into singles.
Needing to come from behind, Wesleyan did way they needed to do and put the pressure back on the hosts with three wins in the first four singles matches that finished. Ferrante dominated at #3, defeating Lulu Wu 6-1, 6-2 while Vesely won 6-4, 6-4 at #1 over Sahana Raman and
Renna Mohsen-Breen '25 took a tightly contested match against Anna Larder at #6 (6-4, 7-5).
Mohsen-Breen's win gave the Cardinals their first lead of the match, 4-3, but Middlebury's Delman came up with a convincing win at #2 before the thriller at #5 between Youngberg and Huang.
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday at home as the Cardinals welcome Bowdoin for a 2:00 PM start.
