MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The Williams College women's tennis team defeated Amherst, 5-2, in Sunday's NESCAC Championship final.

 

Amherst held a 2-1 lead after doubles play, but Williams came back to sweep the four singles matches and claim its 21st win in a row.

 

On Monday, the NCAA will give a press release announcing which teams and doubles pairings have been selected for the Division III tournament. Nationally in the last eight years, Williams has appeared in six NCAA title matches and won all six of them.

 

MEN'S TENNIS

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — After being ousted in their NESCAC title defense in the semifinals in 2014, the Williams College men's tennis team found itself in the NESCAC finals once again on Sunday for the second time in three years.

 

The Ephs were seeking to extend their conference-leading number of NESCAC Championships to 16, their last one coming in 2013 when they defeated Amherst 5-4.

 

Coming off a pair of strong wins over the previous two days, the Ephs were confident going into Sunday, but their hopes were dashed early, as Middlebury came out firing on all cylinders to take a 3-0 lead after doubles, before quickly grabbing a fourth point in singles. The Ephs managed to cut their deficit in half, but Panther junior Palmer Campbell was able to eek out a narrow 7-4 first-set tiebreaker win that he then followed up with a more straightforward 6-3 second set to seal the title on home soil for the Panthers, 5-2.

 

Eph head coach Dan Greenberg had only praise for Middlebury's title-winning performance: "Congrats to Middlebury. They really came out strong to take the 3-0 lead, but I'm proud of how hard our guys fought to claw back into the match."

 

Sophomore Rohan Shastri of Williamstown grinded out a tough first set at two-singles, 7-5, against freshman Noah Farrell, and then finally was able to deal the fatal blow at 5-4 in the second, posting the Ephs' first point of the day.

 

The Ephs are left waiting to know if their impressive NESCAC tournament efforts will be too little too late for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The announcement for the team competition will be made by noon on Monday.

 

SOFTBALL

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Shelby Lipson's two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth made the difference Sunday as No. 1 Tufts edged the Williams College softball team, 1-0, the the 2015 NESCAC Tournament championship game. 

 

Tufts won its fourth consecutive NESCAC title — the second straight season it vanguished the Ephs to do it — and improved to 41-0 in the process while also garnering the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

 

The heartbreaker dropped Williams to 30-7.The Ephs will await news of a possible at-large berth into the 2015 NCAA Tournament to be announced late Sunday or early Monday.

 

Eph senior Emma Harrington matched zeroes with Tufts Allyson Fournier through five full frames. After Fournier put up another zero in the top of the sixth, her teammate Cassie Ruscz opened the bottom with a single and was pinch run for by Sara Willner-Giwerc. Harrington retired the next two batters, with a groundout advancing the runner to third. Lipson came through with the biggest hit of the day, lining a single to center for the game's only run. 

 

Fournier (25-0) retired the Ephs in order in the seventh on three pop ups. She allowed two hits and no walks while fanning 14 in the victory. Harrington (14-4) also hurled a complete game, giving up seven hits over six innings, walking one and striking out two. 

 

Williams put runners on in each of the first three innings. In the first, Mo Frank grounded a one-out single up the middle but was stranded at first. In the second, Melissa Cendejas lined a one-out single to left but was stranded as well. In the third, Alison Michalik reached on an error following a bunt. attempt. With two outs she stole second, but was left there as Fournier fanned the final hitter of the inning. 

 

Ruscz went 2 for 3 for the Jumbos.