AMHERST, MA. – Biting into the first taste of NCAA Tournament action after a First Round bye, the fourth-ranked Wesleyan women's tennis team dominated Moravian University in the Second Round on Saturday morning, swiftly sweeping a 4-0 victory to advance to the next round.
Awaiting the Cardinals in the NCAA Third Round is NESCAC rival, No. 16 Amherst College. Amherst defeated No. 17 Swarthmore in a 4-1 tally to advance.
Receiving the lone First Round Bye in the NCAA Tournament pod, hosted by the Mammoths, the Cardinals came face to face with the Greyhounds after their win over Hunter. Moravian, the Landmark Conference champions, were unable to register a single point through doubles play as the Cardinals clinched with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
Leading off,
Lara Afolayanka '29 and
Sarah Youngberg '26, the latest iteration of the No. 2 doubles pair, ran a 6-0 finish over Sydney Shifman and Natalia Smith. Clinching point one,
Leila Epstein '26 and
Lucinda Gatsiounis '28 finished 6-0 over Leah Zolotareva and Izzy Szmodis.
Without missing a beat,
Natalia Leroy '28 defeated Madi Schottman at No. 6 with a clean 6-0, 6-0 win. Youngberg followed, dropping just one game to Kaelyn Balko at No. 5, ringing in a 6-1, 6-0 finish. The final point of the match went to
Mariia Kornilova 29, the clinching point in all three games of the NESCAC tournament, sending Shifman a 6-0, 6-0 defeat as the Cardinals jump to Sunday's Third Round.
The Cardinals battle the Mammoths to reach the Elite 8 on Sunday, May 10, at 11 a.m.
