MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – For the fifth straight season, the Wesleyan women's tennis team will be competing in the championship weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 5 ranked Cardinals earned their spot with a convincing 5-0 win over No. 33 Mary Washington from the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts on Sunday. Wesleyan (19-1) will travel down to Orlando where they will meet No. 7 Emory in the Quarterfinal (Elite 8) round on Sunday, May 14.
These two sides met just last season in the same round of the NCAA Tournament, a 5-2 Wesleyan victory from Lexington, Virginia in the regional final (Third Round of the national tournament). With many familiar faces in the lineup, both sides were primed and ready on a gorgeous afternoon in Middletown.
Doubles play saw the lethal duo of
Renna Mohsen-Breen '25 and
Sarah Youngberg '26 roll through Emily Beckner and Riley Smith at #3, as the underclassmen Cardinal team won six games unanswered to win 8-2.
Caitlyn Ferrante '23 and
Nika Vesely '25 followed with another one-sided victory, with the Cardinals taking home an 8-4 win over Abby Moghtader and Rebecca Stepleman.
Where the match took a crucial turn was at #1 doubles as
Kristina Yu '22 and
Sasha Gaeth '23 found themselves trailing 7-4 to Amanda Hagino and Hana Kimmey. With the Eagles in desperate need of a point heading into singles, Yu and Gaeth bore down and won three unanswered games to send the match into a tiebreak. It was 5-5 in the tiebreaker before two straight points sealed a come-from-behind 8-7 (7-5) win to hand the Cardinals a commanding 3-0 lead after doubles.
In need of just two singles wins, the Cardinals roared to first set wins on all six courts and sealed the match in style as Mohsen-Breen toppled Smith 6-2, 6-0 at #6 before Ferrante won the clinching point over Kimmey at #3 (6-2, 6-2).
Wesleyan led all four remaining singles matches at the time the match was called, with Vesely up 6-4, 3-0 at #1 against Moghtader.
Leila Epstein '26 was up in the third set 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 at #2, Yu led 6-4, 3-2 at #4, and Youngberg led by the same score (6-4, 3-2) at #5.
The Cardinals return to the USTA National Campus for the championship weekend, with a familiar foe looming in the Emory Eagles. The two sides have met six times since 2017 including last season in the Elite 8 held in Orlando, with Mohsen-Breen winning the clinching point in a thrilling match that ended 5-3 in favor of Wesleayn.
