LEXINGTON, Va. – The Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced the seedings for the upcoming ODAC Women's Tennis Championship and Washington and Lee has claimed the top seed.
W&L has won 21 straight conference championships and 33 ODAC crowns in the last 35 years. Only Sweet Briar (1990) and Hollins (2002) have claimed an ODAC title since the Generals' first championship in 1989. The tournament will commence on Tuesday with quarterfinal play at each of the top four seeds. Both semifinal matches and the championship match will also be contested at Washington and Lee University, regardless of the outcomes of the Generals' matches.
The Generals (17-1, 10-0 ODAC) will host eighth-seeded Randolph-Macon (9-6, 4-6 ODAC) in Tuesday's quarterfinal at 4:00 p.m. Should W&L advance, the Generals would then face the winner of the quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan (9-8, 7-3 ODAC ODAC) and fifth-seeded Shenandoah (10-6, 6-4 ODAC) on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The two winning teams on Saturday will then meet on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for the ODAC title. Averett claimed the No. 2 seed and Sweet Briar is the No. 3 seed to round out the top-four teams and those who will host quarterfinal matches. Randolph will travel to Sweet Briar as the No. 6 seed and Guilford completes the eight-team field as the No. 7 seed at Averett.
W&L's singles lineup boasts five players with double-digit wins so far this season, led by junior and nationally 18th-ranked
Lauren Long, who has a 13-1 record and has won seven straight matches. Long has won 10-of-11 matches at No. 1 singles in dual matches this season, as she figures to hold down the top spot in the lineup moving into postseason play.
Following Long is juniors
Grace Lorenz and
Riho Iijima, each with a 10-2 record, and will likely be the Generals' No. 3 and No. 6 singles players in the ODAC Tournament, respectively. Lorenz has won 6-of-7 matches at No. 3 this season, while Iijima is 1-1 at No. 6.
First-year
Sarah Donnelly and junior
Annie Jennings round out the double-digit winners at singles for the Blue and White. Donnelly (10-3) has seen the most time at No. 4 singles, going 5-2 this season, while Jennings has played at least once in all six slots for the Generals this season. Rounding out the projected W&L singles starting lineup is first-year
Allie Murrell at 8-8 overall in singles play, with a team-high eight matches played at No. 2.
In doubles, Long and Lorenz figure to be at the top spot with eight matches played and five wins, both of which are the most on the team at No. 1. Murrell and Donnelly look to follow at No. 2, with a 2-1 record at that position and a 3-2 overall record as a doubles tandem this season. Jennings and junior
Isabella Custard have been the Generals' go-to option at No. 3 as of late, going 2-1 there over the last three weeks and 3-2 overall as a duo this season.
Other Generals to watch for this ODAC Tournament include senior
Meagan Donovan, who is 6-0 at No. 6 singles this season and a perfect 7-0 in all singles matches. First-year
Jackie Daynovsky is 8-1 so far this season, including 4-0 at No. 5, while junior
Jordan Kach is 7-1 overall and a combined 5-0 at No. 5 and No. 6.
In doubles, the duo of Donovan and first-year
Greer Webb is one of seven combinations to log at least five matches together this season, with a 4-0 mark at No. 3, plus a 1-0 record at No. 2.
Live scoring and live video will be available for all women's tennis matches in Lexington this weekend. Live video can be found
here, while live scoring links will become available on the iOnCourt app as matchups are determined throughout the tournament.
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.
