SOMERVILLE, Mass. – In yet another NESCAC matchup against a ranked opponent, the No. 5 Wesleyan women's tennis team dispatched No. 10 Tufts in an 8-1 road win on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals complete the regular season with a 14-1 overall record (9-1 NESCAC) and head into the 2023 NESCAC Tournament with at least the #2 seed locked in. The Jumbos (8-8, 7-3 NESCAC) lose for just the second time in eight matches.
Wesleyan's 8-1 victory over Tufts represents the largest margin of victory for the Cardinals in 18 all-time meetings with the Jumbos. The previous-high was a 6-3 win from 2018 and 2021.
The match saw Wesleyan record wins on all three courts in doubles play.
Nika Vesely '25 and
Caitlyn Ferrante '23 improved to 10-0 as a pairing, as the duo defeated Zoe Kava and Sophie Wax at #2 by an 8-4 margin.
Renna Mohsen-Breen '25 and
Sarah Youngberg '26 defeated Lucy Mitchell and Stephanie Woodbury 8-4 at #3, improving to 13-1 as a doubles team.
Looking for the doubles sweep, the match at #1 came down to a tiebreak which
Kristina Yu '22 and
Sasha Gaeth '23 dominated (7-2) to secure all three points for the Cardinals heading into singles play.
Tufts found their first and only win of the afternoon at #3 but Wesleyan responded with wins on all five remaining courts including three of which coming in straight sets.
Leila Epstein '26 was first to finish as she knocked off Sophie Wax 6-2, 7-5 at #2. Mohsen-Breen came up with the clinching point for the Cardinals at #6, with the sophomore defeating Casey Cummings 6-2, 6-4.
Vesely moved to 12-0 in singles dual matches this season, all coming from the #1 position, as the sophomore dispatched Rachel Cranley 6-3, 7-5.
The remaining two matches went deep into a third set and the Cardinals prevailed in both the finish the match in style. Youngberg won her match at #4 against Lucy Mitchell 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 while
Serim Jin '23 bounced back from a first set defeat with a 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 win at #5.
Wesleyan awaits results from the final day of the NESCAC regular season on Sunday as the NESCAC Tournament is set to begin on Friday, April 28 with Williams and Middlebury hosting the first day of competition before the tournament moves to Williams for the semifinal and championship rounds (April 29-30).
