Williams Women's Tennis Reaches NCAA Semifinals

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KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Williams College women's tennis team (21-3) advanced to its ninth consecutive NCAA Division III semifinal under ninth-year head coach Alison Swain by registering a 5-0 win over the Chicago Maroons (13-6) in a match played on the campus of Kalamazoo College.
 
The Ephs opened the match by sweeping the doubles points to establish a 3-0 lead heading into singles.
 
The Ephs' top tandem of Juli Raventos and Linda Shin were the first pair off the court, notching and 8-0 win over the Chicago duo of Rachel Kim and Lucy Tang. After the team portion of the NCAA Tournament concludes Raventos and Shin will go to work and try and defend the NCAA Doubles Title they won a year ago.
 
The team of Julia Cancio and Hannah Atkinson playing at number two was next off the court when they recorded an 8-4 win over Chicago's Tiffany Chen and Stephanie Lee.
 
Maya Hart and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio claimed the third point for the Ephs at number three, where they downed Ariana Iranpour and Courtney Warren 8-4.
 
In all three doubles matches the Ephs opened up a 3-0 lead to start and the match, putting Chicago on its heels early.
 
"The team handled the evening match time really well,” Swain said. "We had a great warm up and really started strong on all three doubles courts.
 
"Chicago fought hard and made some good adjustments, and I think our team showed good composure and determination to close out sets and matches.”
 
The Ephs clinched the match with straight set wins at six singles by Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio and at five singles where Leah Bush prevailed.
 
McDonnell Nieto del Rio defeated Chicago's Stephanie Lee 6-2, 6-1 to give the Ephs a 4-0 lead in the match.
 
Leah Bush delivered the fifth and deciding point in the match when she posted a straight sets win over Kaela Bynoe 6-1, 6-3.
 
With the win the Ephs extended their season win streak to eight, snapped the Maroons' streak at three. Chicago finished the year with a record 13-6.
 
This marks the third time the Ephs have defeated Chicago in the NCAA tournament and the win upped the Ephs' Division III leading all-time win total to 75. Williams is now 75-14 in the NCAA Tournament.
Under Swain, Williams is now 42-1 in NCAA Tournament play and the Ephs are riding a nine-match tourney win streak.
 
The Ephs will return to Stowe Stadium on Tuesday to play the winner of Monday’s late match between Bowdoin and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
 
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Williams Seeking Town Approval for New Indoor Practice Facility

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board last week gave Williams College the first approval it needs to build a 55,000-square foot indoor athletic facility on the north side of its campus.
 
Over the strenuous objection of a Southworth Street resident, the board found that the college's plan for a "multipurpose recreation center" or MRC off Stetson Road has adequate on-site parking to accommodate its use as an indoor practice facility to replace Towne Field House, which has been out of commission since last spring and was demolished this winter.
 
The college plans a pre-engineered metal that includes a 200-meter track ringing several tennis courts, storage for teams, restrooms, showers and a training room. The athletic surface also would be used as winter practice space for the school's softball and baseball teams, who, like tennis and indoor track, used to use the field house off Latham Street.
 
Since the planned structure is in the watershed of Eph's Pond, the college will be before the Conservation Commission with the project.
 
It also will be before the Zoning Board of Appeals, on Thursday, for a Development Plan Review and relief from the town bylaw limiting buildings to 35 feet in height. The new structure is designed to have a maximum height of 53 1/2 feet and an average roof height of 47 feet.
 
The additional height is needed for two reasons: to meet the NCAA requirement for clearance above center court on a competitive tennis surface (35 feet) and to include, on one side, a climbing wall, an element also lost when Towne Field House was razed.
 
The Planning Board had a few issues to resolve at its March 12 meeting. The most heavily discussed involved the parking determination for a use not listed in the town's zoning bylaws and a decision on whether access from town roads to the building site in the middle of Williams' campus was "functionally equivalent" to the access that would be required under the town's subdivision rules and regulations.
 
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