LEXINGTON, Va. – The 25th-ranked Washington and Lee women's tennis team edged No. 8 Johns Hopkins University, 5-4, on Saturday evening in the second W&L contest of the W&L Invitational.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After doubles concluded, the Generals trailed Hopkins 2-1. At the No. 1 matchup, the duo of sophomore
Lauren Long and senior
Gabi Moss earned the only win for the Blue and White with a score of 8-4 over Ashley Chang and Sophia Kim.
In the No. 2 doubles slot, Kamila Wong and Sydney Langer defeated
Grace Lorenz and Margaret Long 8-2. Hopkins also took the No. 3 doubles match;
Izzy Koziol and
Haley Stoltz battled to an 8-5 loss at the hands of Jay Xiao and Samantha Wang.
The Blue Jays prevailed at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles with scores of 6-4, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-3, respectively, which meant the Generals needed to sweep the remaining matches to earn another team win.
The first singles match to finish was No. 3; sophomore
Annie Jennings matched up with 49th-ranked Sydney Langer in a 6-2, 6-3 loss to give JHU a 3-1 advantage.
Grace Lorenz, playing at the No. 4 position, won with set scores 6-3 and 7-5 to keep W&L's chances alive. In the top position, Long then fell to Mary Beth Hurley with a pair of 6-4 scores and a 4-2 team tally.
Moss at No. 2 singles was the next to finish. The senior battled back after falling in the first set 6-4 to take the second and third with scores of 6-0 and 6-2 to take the singles win.
At the conclusion of Moss's match,
Margaret Carlton and
Haley Stoltz were left on the court. Playing at No. 5 singles, Carlton gritted out the first set 7-6 with a 7-3 tiebreak score. Samantha Wang then dominated the second set, 6-1, before Carlton closed out the final set and match with a 6-3 win.
Carlton's win knotted up team scoring at 4-4. Stoltz finished the rally in favor of the Generals with an upset win over regionally-ranked Kamila Wong in three sets. The rookie dropped the first set in a 7-2 tiebreak then fought to 7-5 and 6-3 wins over the final stanzas to earn the team win.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
With the win, the Generals improve to 8-0 overall on the season and handed Hopkins (6-1) the first loss of the 2023-24 season.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will face another ranked opponent in No. 20 Denison on Sunday to conclude the W&L Invitational. The Blue and White will host the Big Red at 10 a.m. at the Duchossois Tennis Center.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
