LEXINGTON, Va. – The 20th-ranked Washington and Lee women's tennis team rebounded from a 2-1 deficit in doubles for a 5-4 win over No. 28 Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon to finish out the regular season with a 17-1 overall record.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Eagles (8-9) won the first two team points of the match with 8-5 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Looking to avoid their second straight 0-3 hole following doubles, senior
Izzy Koziol and first-year
Haley Stoltz picked up a crucial point at No. 3 with an 8-7 (7-3) win over Linda Dimitroff and Riley Smith.
The Generals then claimed the next three points to move in front, 4-2. Sophomore
Lauren Long tied the team score with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1, while senior
Gabi Moss put W&L in front with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 2. Senior
Margaret Carlton then boosted the lead to 4-2 with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 5.
Mary Washington got one point back in the next match to finish when Addison Felts won in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) over sophomore
Grace Lorenz and No. 3. Koziol then secured the clinching point with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Smith at No. 6.
In the final match of the day, sophomore
Annie Jennings and Emily Beckner battled to a third-set, 10-point tiebreak to decide the final team point. Jennings went up a set, 6-3, but Beckner answered with a 7-6 (7-5) win in the second, before she finalized the one-point team difference with a 10-6 win in the third.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals' mark of 17-1 overall during the 2023-24 regular season is their best since the 2007-08 team went a perfect 21-0.
With her win at No. 2 singles, Moss extended her singles winning streak to 10 matches, and she will head into postseason play with a 15-2 overall record in singles. Koziol's win at No. 6 and Long's win at No. 1 were their seventh straight singles wins, while Carlton extended her singles winning streak to six consecutive.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to the courts on Wednesday when they host an ODAC Quarterfinal match at a time to be determined. W&L is the top seed for the conference championship, and will play Bridgewater in Wednesday's quarterfinal.
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.
