The 2007 Washington and Lee women’s tennis team was one of the school’s most dominant teams of all-time.
The Generals finished with a 25-1 overall record and claimed the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championship, just the second National Title in school history and the first by a women’s athletics program.
W&L played an aggressive schedule that featured 11 teams ranked in the Division III Top 25 during the season and went 10-1 in those matches, falling only to fifth-ranked Williams by a score of 5-4 in late March. Among the 10 wins was a 6-3 decision over Emory University, avenging a loss to the Eagles in the 2006 National Championship match. The Generals also knocked off Division I James Madison by a score of 5-4.
The Blue & White went 9-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and claimed the league crown with a 9-0 victory over Virginia Wesleyan in the title match.
W&L entered the NCAA Tournament ranked fourth in Division III and opened the tournament at home with 5-0 wins over Swarthmore and Mary Washington. The Generals then posted a 5-0 win over Middlebury in the quarterfinals, before avenging their only loss of the season with a 5-3 victory over Williams in the semifinals. W&L then bested Amherst, 5-2, in the championship match to bring home the trophy.
In addition to team success, members of the 2007 women’s tennis team also accomplished tremendous individual feats. Emily Applegate ’07 finished as the National Runner-Up in singles, garnering All-America honors in both singles and doubles. She was joined as a doubles All-American by Kristen McClung Payne ’07.
Katie Kingsbury Gritter ’07 received CoSIDA Academic All-America laurels and claimed the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship, the highest academic honor granted by the NCAA. She was joined on the Academic All-America team by Ginny Wortham ’07, who also garnered the Marjorie Berkley Award as the top female scholar-athlete in the ODAC. Additionally, Head Coach Cinda Rankin was named the Wilson/ITA Division III National Coach of the Year.
Members of the National Champion 2007 women’s tennis team included Applegate, Katie Bouret Laurens ’10, Blair Brzeski ’10, Lauren Caire ’10, Tori Christmas Marks ’09, Lauren Cook Hummel ’08, Natalie Day Netter ’07, Lauren Dorsey Keigler ’10, Katie Duncan ’08, Amanda Haines Ritter ’07, Katie Harris ’10, Lyndsey Johansson ’10, Kingsbury Gritter, McClung Payne, Rhodes Proctor ’08, Meg Spalitta Holliday ’09, Katie Tabb ’09, Rebecca Timmis Russell ’08, Leah Weston Carmalt ’08, Kelly Will Sheppard ’08 and Wortham. The assistant coach was Eric Ishida.
