#13 Tartans Defeat #14 Washington University Advancing to ITA Team Indoor National Championship

(GREENCASTLE, Ind.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team, ranked 13th nationally, competed in the semifinal match of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Division III Women's Team Indoor Championship, Saturday, March 3 on the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.  The Tartans played University Athletic Association (UAA) foe Washington University and blanked the #14 Bears 9-0 to advance to the national final match.  The win improves Carnegie Mellon's dual-match record to 8-1 on the season and the Bears are now 2-1.

For the second straight day, Carnegie Mellon swept doubles play to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles.  The first team point for the Tartans came following an 8-1 victory at first doubles thanks to the senior duo of Laura Chen (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) and Courtney Chin (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista).  

Carnegie Mellon then made it 2-0, as the freshmen pair of Bryn Raschke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and Angela Pratt (Saratoga, Calif./St. Francis) won 8-4 at third doubles.  The Tartans second doubles team of sophomore Katie Cecil (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) and freshman Chelsea Motie (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) completed the sweep with an 8-4 victory as well.

The Tartans took the first five points of the match, as they did in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, to preserve the victory and a trip to the national finals. The first singles point came when Motie didn't drop a game in a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at third singles.  Cecil then finished off her opponent at second singles 6-3, 6-2.

The success didn't stop there for the Tartans. Chen won at first singles 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-2 before Chin won 6-2, 6-2 at fourth singles, extending the Tartans lead to 7-0.   Pratt then protected Carnegie Mellon's shutout bid winning 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 in the fifth spot while senior Cze-Ja Tam (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) finished the night off with a straight set victory at sixth singles winning 6-4, 6-4.
 
Carnegie Mellon will play for its second ITA National Indoor Championship in the past four years on Sunday, March 4.  The Tartans, who won the inaugural championship in 2009, will face #8 Washington and Lee University at 10:00 a.m.  The Cardinal and Gray dropped a 5-4 decision last season to the Generals in the NCAA Regional Championship match, ending the Tartans season.