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Ephs win 2nd straight NCAA title with 5-2 win over AmherstWilliams Sports Info
09:00AM / Friday, May 22, 2009
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – It took a decade for the Williams College women's tennis team to avenge a loss in an NCAA title match to archrival Amherst College (1999) and Alison Swain's Ephs were not about to let a 2-1 deficit after doubles keep them from repeating as NCAA champions.
Swain's determined Eph netters rattled off four straight set singles wins to capture the fourth NCAA title in Williams history and the second under Swain by a 5-2 score.
Amherst needed only a split in the six singles matches to take home the title, but the Ephs were in no mood to cooperate and they denied the Lord Jeffs a singles win.
"We came back from a 2-1 deficit last year to win, but we had been starting off slow in singles play," said Swain.
The Ephs trailed early in five of six singles matches until junior Grace Baljon took a lead at the top of the ladder, 3-2 over Bittany Berkes and sophomore Nikki Reich went up 4-3 on Amherst's Jill Wexler at three singles.
"When Grace [Baljon], Nikki [Reich] and Lucy [Marchese] won their first sets you could feel the energy shift," said Swain. "I said to myself, we're okay, we can do this. I knew Kristin [Alotta] would win and I knew Cary and Annie would fight."
Reich and classmate Lucy Marchese were the first off the court as they both claimed convincing victories. Reich took down Wexler 6-4, 6-3, while Marchese got the best of Laken King 6-4, 6-0 at five singles.
Sophomore Kristin Alotta recorded her 25th straight win when she beat Natasha Brown 7-5, 6-4. The win raised Alotta's singles record to 29-1 on the year.
Baljon collected the fourth Eph win as she disposed of Berkes 6-4, 6-3. Seniors Cary Gibson at two singles and Annie Hancock at six had their matches suspended when the Ephs recorded their fifth point.
"This was a totally unbelievable team effort throughout," gushed Swain. "These kids never stopped believing. "They got the message when Julie Greenwood [Swain's predecessor] spoke to them after the Round of 16. Julie told the team that there will be plenty of opportunities in each match they played to win and these girls seized every one of those opportunities. They would not go down."
"I'm so, so proud of this team – their spirit and determination was inspiring," said Swain.
This marks the second time the Ephs have won back-to-back NCAA titles, having accomplished the feat previously in 2001 and 2002 under Julie Greenwood. Current head coach Alison Swain played on the Ephs' first NCAA title team in 2001. Now Swain has directed her first two Williams teams to NCAA titles and has a sparkling 10-0 NCAA Tournament record.
Both Williams and Amherst finished the year with identical 21-2 records. Both losses for each team came at the hands of their archrival. The Eph win snapped a 21-match Amherst win streak that was started after they lost their first match of the fall to the Ephs in Amherst 6-3.
With four NCAA titles the Ephs trail only Emory (5) for the most titles in NCAA Division III play. The Ephs are now 43-13 (.768) all-time in NCAA play and 4-2 in championship matches.
Williams is now 2-2 vs. Amherst all-time in NCAA Tournament action. Williams was the first NCAA Division III women's tennis team to repeat as national champions (2001 & 2002). The Ephs have now won four NCAA titles in the last nine seasons.
Doubles
1. Brittany Berckes/Natasha Brown (A) def. Nikki Reich/Cary Gibson (W) – 8-3
2. Taylor French/Grace Baljon (W) def. Anuja Ankola/Amelia Bell (A) – 8-1
3. Laura Danzig/Jill Wexler (A) def. Kristin Alotta/Annie Hancock (W) -- 8-2
Singles
1. Grace Baljon (W) vs. Brittany Berckes (A) -- 6-4, 6-3
2. Cary Gibson (W) vs. Carlissa King (A) -- DNF
3. Nikki Reich (W) vs. Jill Wexler (A) -- 6-4, 6-3
4. Kristin Alotta (W) vs. Natasha Brown (A) -- 7-5, 6-4
5. Lucy Marchese (W) vs. Laken King (A) -- 6-4, 6-0
6. Annie Hancock (W) vs. Amelia Bell (A) -- DNF |
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