Mary Washington Outlasts Washington & Lee 5-4 in NCAA Women's Tennis Second Round
Mary Washington escaped with a 5-4 victory over Washington & Lee on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship at the Battleground. The Eagles, after claiming the five-plus hour match, improve to 20-4 on the season, and will advance to Sunday's third round to host Amherst at noon.
Amherst defeated N.C. Wesleyan in Saturday's other second-round matchup at the Battleground.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead, as seniors Kait Brogan and Ashley Barrow gained an 8-2 victory at one doubles over Michell Fleenor and Ashton Jenne. The Generals quickly evened the score at 1-1 with an 8-2 win at three doubles, but UMW forged back ahead after the third doubles match, winning 8-4 at number two, with Caroline Mosberg and Rachel Summers gaining the victory.
In singles, the Eagles continued their momentum, gaining a point at five, as Danielle Mirabella topped Lauren Hassell, 6-2, 6-1, and another at one, as Brogan topped Fleenor, 6-1, 6-4. Needing just one more point to clinch, the Eagles saw W&L gain the next three points to tie the score. Emily Kochard took a 7-6, 6-4 win over Hannah Jabusch at three, and Lily Horsley won at four, 7-5, 6-4, over Mosberg.
The score stood tied after W&L's Valerie Marshall won at two, 6-2, 6-4, over Summers. At six singles, freshman Rachel Cooper dropped the first set, 6-4, but bounced back to take the second in a tiebreaker to force a third set against W&L's Mary Hampton McNeal.
After dropping the first two points, an injury timeout gave Cooper some momentum, as she won the next point with a break to narrow the margin to 2-1. Cooper then gained a point on serve to tie the score, and reeled off the next two points to grab a 4-2 advantage. After McNeal held serve to cut the margin to 4-3, Cooper won on serve and then broke to finish the five-hour match and send the Eagles to the next round.