ST. LOUIS, MO. – In a blistering afternoon matchup between the No. 4 Wesleyan women's tennis team and No. 5 Emory University, it was Wesleyan's rookies Lane Durkin '27 and Jackie Soloveychik '27 that rallied through for the team to advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four in a tight 5-4 defeat of the Eagles from the Dwight Davis Tennis Center.

Matching up for the fifth time in five years, the 21-0 Cardinals went down to the wire with the Eagles despite an early lead through doubles play. However, it was Soloveychik who put down the final match point, putting up two points in a row in the third set to send the Cardinals to the Final Four for the fourth time since 2019.

In the No. 4 singles spot, Soloveychik saw a breakout with a first set win, but Emory's Izzy Antanavicious forced a third set tiebreak as she came away with a second set victory over Soloveychik. Soloveychik's nerves of steel played in her favor as she came away with a final 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

The first singles victory of the afternoon went to Durkin in the No. 5 lineup spot as she ran down Iris Berman in a 6-3, 6-1 final tally. Durkin held a steady lead through both sets, allowing little to no catchup room for Berman.

While Durkin and Soloveychik were the rookie victors against the Eagles, Leila Epstein '26 was singles point two on court three, going three sets with Ilayda Baykan. Epstein took set one, keeping Baykan at bay but Baykan came made a rally back in set two despite Epstein's tie up at 3-3. Epstein finalized point four for the Cardinals, defeating Baykan with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 final score.

Doubles play saw Durkin, Soloveychik, and Epstein all pick up their first of two wins on the afternoon. Epstein and Soloveychik as the No. 2 pairing defated Eliza McPherron and Berman in a 8-3 match win. The No. 3 pairing of Durkin and Renna Mohsen-Breen '25 beat Yanire Marte and Antanavicius 8-5.

Emory's Emily Kantrovitz and Ana Cristina Perez defeated Caitlyn Ferrante '24 and Sarah Youngberg '26 in No. 1 doubles, 8-6. Ferrante fell in the No. 1 spot to Kantrovitz 6-4, 1-6, 5-7. Perez defeated Youngberg at No. 2, 6-2, 6-0. And Mohsen-Breen's unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of Marte, 6-3, 6-4.

The undefeated Cardinals will face No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (25-1) in the NCAA Tournament semifinal round on Tuesday, May 21, at 5 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. CDT.