MEDFORD, MA (March 11, 2023) – Sixth-ranked Middlebury College defeated #8 Tufts University 5-4 in an exciting NESCAC women's tennis match Saturday at the Gantcher Center.
The contest went down to the last match on, with Panther Lulu Wu defeating Tufts'
Rachel Cranley in second singles 7-6 (4), 6-1. The Jumbo first-year had climbed out of a 4-2 deficit to force the first-set tie-breaker, but Wu was able to win that and then take the second set decisively.
The Jumbos had won two out of three in doubles to lead 2-1 as a team.
Madeline Suk and
Caroline Garrido were 8-3 winners against Sami Remis and Brinlea LaBarge in the third match to start it off. After Middlebury won first singles,
Sophie Wax and
Zoe Kava topped Gena Huang and Wu 8-6 in the #2 match to give the Jumbos the doubles advantage.
Suk won easily (6-2, 6-3) in fifth singles against Huang as the hosts took a 3-1 lead. However, Middlebury then had a run of three straight wins that gave them a 4-3 advantage. Victories by Claudia Miller at #3 and Amy Delman at first singles tied the team score at 3-3. The Panthers then took a 4-3 lead when Nathalie Van Der Reis finished off a competitive 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over
Rebecca Lim to put the visitors up 4-3.
Playing on four courts indoors at the Gantcher Center, the final two singles matches would determine the outcome. Kava rolled to 6-4, 6-3 scores to win in sixth singles for Tufts to tie the match at 4-4. However, not long after that Wu recorded her second singles win to clinch the match for Middlebury (2-0).
Tufts (1-2) will get right back to it when they host Williams College in NESCAC action starting tomorrow morning at 10 am.
--JUMBOS--
