LEXINGTON, Va. -- The 42nd-ranked Washington and Lee women's tennis team awaits the winner of a first round matchup between Swarthmore and Penn State-Harrisburg in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in Lexington on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
W&L is 17-5 overall this season and earned the ODAC's automatic qualification into the tournament after topping Averett, 4-0, in the conference championship match on Sunday. It marked the program's 22nd consecutive ODAC title, and it will be the 30th straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the Blue and White.
Overall, W&L holds a 61-35 all-time record in the NCAA Championship. The Generals have appeared in six national title matches, with five coming from 2003-08, and won the team championship during the 2007 campaign in a 5-2 decision over Amherst. Additionally, W&L holds a 29-2 record in their opening round match, with the only two losses coming in its first two tournament appearances (1991, 1994).
The Generals are led into this year's tournament by junior
Lauren Long, who was announced as a participant in the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Singles Championship, is 15-1 in singles play this season and 10-4 in doubles action with teammate
Grace Lorenz. First-year
Sarah Donnelly follows Long in singles wins with a 13-3 record, plus a 5-2 doubles mark with first-year
Allie Murrell.
The 21st-ranked Garnet downed No. 44 Franklin & Marshall in Sunday's Centennial Conference championship match, 4-1, to gain automatic entry into this year's tournament, while the Lions got past St. Mary's (Md.), 4-0, in the United East title match. Swarthmore will be making its first NCAA Championship appearance since 2007 this weekend and seventh in program history. PSU-Harrisburg is in the national tournament for the third time in program history and second straight season.
Swarthmore will battle PSU-Harrisburg on Friday at 2:00 p.m., with the winner advancing to play W&L on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. It would be the first all-time meeting between W&L and Penn State Harrisburg in women's tennis or the 12th matchup between the Generals and the Garnet. W&L holds a 10-1 series record against Swarthmore, with the most recent meeting coming in 2007.
On the other side of the bracket, Asbury takes on N.C. Wesleyan on Friday at 10:00 a.m., with the winner earning the right to play No. 2 Emory on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Asbury made this year's tournament through the Collegiate Conference of the South automatic bid, while the Battling Bishops won their third consecutive USA South Conference title. Emory, on the other hand, is the only at-large team in this weekend's pod after a 4-0 loss against top-ranked UChicago in the University Athletic Association championship match.
The Emory Eagles will be making their 40th consecutive appearance in the NCAA postseason, the longest active streak among any Division III program. They also saw Emily Kantrovitz and Izzy Antanavicius named as participants in this year's singles championship in Claremont, Calif., while Antanavicius and Iris Berman will also be featured in the doubles draw. Kantrovitz, the top-ranked player in Division III, was also named a doubles draw second alternate with teammate Dakota Fordham.
The two winning teams from Saturday's matches will meet on Sunday in the NCAA Round of 16 at 12:00 p.m., with the winner advancing to the team quarterfinals in Claremont, Calif. All matches in Lexington will be streamed live, with live scoring also available. More information on the teams on campus, as well as this year's championship, can be found
here.
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.
