ST. LOUIS, MO. – Down 2-1 at the start of singles action, the Wesleyan women's tennis team gained a spark in the form of Lane Durkin '27 as she tied up the NCAA National Championship match at three, following teammate Jackie Soloveychik '27 with a singles match win to keep Wesleyan afloat against the University of Chicago on Thursday afternoon. The No. 3 University of Chicago claimed the 2024 NCAA National Championship as they defeated No. 4 Wesleyan 5-3 from the Dwight Davis Tennis Center.

Durkin, who has given nothing short of a stellar performance in St. Louis, claimed two victories against the Maroons starting with a No. 3 doubles win with partner Renna Mohsen-Breen '25. The pair, refusing to back down, forced a tiebreaker as they took Nika Vesely and Lauren Khou to the wire. Durkin and Mohsen-Breen held a two-game lead over the Maroons through the tiebreaker and came away with the 8-7 (7-4) final score.

With the Maroon's taking a 3-1 lead after Rena Lin defeated Caitlyn Ferrante '24 at No. 1 with a 6-2, 6-2 straight set win, Soloveychik brought the Cardinals back within one point with the first singles victory of the afternoon at No. 4 against Brooke Pederson. Pederson was the first out of the gate in set one, but Soloveychik regrouped and barely allowed a point rebound from Pederson through the set. Soloveychik coast through the second set with a four-game lead at the end with a 6-3, 6-2, win.  

Taking the first set at No. 5, Durkin went into set two against Shianna Guo looking for another quick run, but Guo got out early, holding a steady one game lead over Durkin as Durkin spent much of the match tying Guo up game by game. Forcing the set to a tiebreaker as the set was tied up at six, Guo again jumped early as the two went nearly game for game before Durkin came out on top with the 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) final tally.

Mohsen-Breen, Leila Epstein '26, and Sarah Youngberg '26 all put away second set wins in an effort to mount a Cardinals comeback for the title. Mohsen-Breen took a 6-2 second set victory against Sarena Biria at No. 6, making a four-game comeback in the third set to tie it up at four. Biria posted two in a row to come away with the 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win for the Maroons.

Youngberg's 7-6 set win over Sylwia Mikos started with Miko's taking a 2-0 lead, but Youngberg's refusal to back down gave her the lead before Mikos tied it up at six. Youngberg allowed Miko's only one game in the tiebreaker, but Mikos was the Maroons' match clincher, defeating Youngberg in a 6-1, 6-7 (1-7), 6-0, final through set three.

Epstein's comeback in the second set of her No. 3 matchup against Nika Vesely was a powerhouse run of six unanswered points as she came away with the 7-5 win to send the match to a third set. However, Mikos' match winner forced the match to go unfinished.

Ferrante and Youngberg will play for the individual championship beginning May 25 in St. Louis, MO., as Ferrante will compete in singles action while Youngberg joins her in doubles.

The Cardinals finish the 2024 season with a 22-1 overall record, as they went undefeated in NESCAC play and were named the NESCAC Champions for the fifth year in a row. Head coach Mike Fried holds a standing 159-47 women's tennis record with the Cardinals, coaching the 2024 NESCAC Player of the Year in Ferrante and Soloveychik as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year.