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 is seeking its 23rd consecutive and 35th overall ODAC title in the coming week. The team went undefeated, once again, in conference play this season to run its winning streak in ODAC matches to 353 straight. The tournament will get underway on Wednesday 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 (17-2, 10-0 ODAC) will host eighth-seeded Randolph (9-7, 3-6 ODAC) in Wednesday's quarterfinal at 3:00 p.m. Should W&L advance, the Generals would then face the winner of the quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Lynchburg (10-5, 6-4 ODAC) and fifth-seeded Guilford (10-6, 6-4 ODAC) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The two winning teams on Saturday will then meet on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for the ODAC title.
On the other side of the bracket, Averett earned the No. 2 seed and Virginia Wesleyan came in third. The Cougars will host seventh-seeded Shenandoah and the Marlins will host No. 6 seed Randolph-Macon in quarterfinal play on Wednesday. The ensuing semifinal match will pit the two winning teams against each other on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
Senior
Lauren Long has turned in yet another strong spring after missing the fall slate due to injury. She is 10-3 overall, all from No. 1 singles, and went 5-0 in conference play. Four of her ODAC wins were 6-0, 6-0 finals, with a 6-0, 6-2 victory in her first match of the season against Shenandoah's Olivia Guzzo.
First-year
Margarette Berdy leads all players in singles wins with a 14-4 record and 5-0 in conference. Berdy has featured mostly out of the No. 5 position, going 5-2, plus a combined 5-0 record across the top two spots. Senior
Grace Lorenz follows Berdy in wins with a 13-4 record and has combined for 9-3 at Nos. 2 and 3.
Sophomore
Sarah Donnelly is 8-6 overall this season and has mixed between Nos. 2 and 3 singles with Lorenz. Donnelly is a combined 6-3 in those two spots. Sophomore
Allie Murrell has been the team's go-to at No. 4 singles this season. She is 8-4 overall and 7-1 at No. 4, the most wins for any player at any one position. First-year
Sarah Ladd rounds out the projected singles lineup with a 12-6 record and 3-3 mark at No. 6.
Long has been paired with Donnelly and Lorenz throughout the season at No. 1 doubles, with the two duos combining for a 9-4 record. Lorenz has also paired with Murrell five times at No. 2 (3-2), with Berdy and sophomore
Greer Webb drawing the start at No. 2 doubles in the team's previous two matches. Berdy and Webb also hold a 2-1 record at No. 3, while Berdy and Ladd have gone 1-2 together this season at No. 3. In total, the Generals have trotted out 24 different doubles duos this season.
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 iOnSport 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.
