AMHERST, MA. – In the third and final meeting of the season, the No. 4 Wesleyan women's tennis team defeated NESCAC rival No. 16 Amherst College in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament, outlasting Amherst in a 4-2 marathon match to advance to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the eighth consecutive season from inside the Magic Lincer Tennis Club.
For the eighth time in program history, the Cardinals advance to the NCAA DIII Tennis Championships in Chattanooga, TN, hosted by the University of the South, where they will face No. 14 Washington & Lee in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
The Cardinals (20-2 overall) and the Mammoths (13-8 overall) have gone toe-to-toe on three separate occasions this season, all of which saw the Cardinals come out on top victorious, most recently in the NESCAC semifinals. The Mammoths played the part of the toughest opponent outside of the national Top 10 and the start of Sunday morning's Third Round matchup was just another example.
Securing a win at No. 3 doubles,
Mariia Kornilova '29 and
Kendall Smith '29 knocked out a 6-1 win over Sophie Diop and Greta Stechschulte as the second match to wrap up action. As time ran out on the Cardinals at No. 1, the Mammoths clinched the first point of the morning to tilt the match to their favor.
After climbing to a two-point lead, the Mammoths were cut down by
Lara Afolayanka '29 slotted at No. 3. Afolayanka, ranked 12
th in the nation, dropped just four games to Cody Huang to return a 6-2, 6-2 finish with the first point for the Cardinals. Sitting at No. 5,
Sarah Youngberg's '26 winning streak proved to be a roadblock for Rachel Roth as Youngberg turned out a 6-2, 6-4 final to tie the match up at two.
The lead finally fell to the Cardinals as Kornilova broke the tie match with her win at No. 4. Forced to extra games in set one, Kornilova outlasted Stechschulte in a 7-5 finish before dropping just one to cut a 7-5, 6-1 win.
Agnes Guggenheim '29 was the deciding match at No. 2, facing Diop in a hard-fought battle to the wire. Guggenheim defeated Diop in a thrilling tiebreak as the pair went game for game, advancing the Cardinals to the national quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) final score.
