#8 Washington & Lee Outlast #13 Tartans to Win the Women’s Tennis ITA Division III National Team Indoor Championship

(GREENCASTLE, Ind.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team, ranked 13th nationally, competed in the finals of the 2012 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III National Women's Team Indoor Championship, Sunday, March 4 on the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.  The Tartans played #8 Washington & Lee University and dropped a hard fought match 5-4 to the Generals.  Carnegie Mellon's dual-match record is now 8-2 while the Generals are 7-2.

Washington & Lee grabbed the early 1-0 lead after winning second doubles 8-5, but the Tartans senior tandem of Laura Chen (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) and Courtney Chin (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista) knotted the score at 1-1 with an 8-4 victory in the number one spot over Trelsie Sadler and Jen Snyder.  

After falling behind 6-2 then 7-4, the freshmen duo of Bryn Raschke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and Angela Pratt (Saratoga, Calif./St. Francis) fought back to force a tiebreaker at third doubles before dropping a 9-8 decision. The victory gave the Generals a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play and marked the first time this season the Tartans dropped a doubles match against a Division III opponent.

Carnegie Mellon took the first two points in singles play to go ahead 3-2.  The Tartans first point came at third singles when freshman Chelsea Motie (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) shutout her second straight opponent throughout the championships, as she defeated Snyder 6-0, 6-0.  Sophomore Katie Cecil (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) then won at the second spot over Lauren Lukas, 6-2, 6-1.

Washington & Lee claimed first singles before Chin won at fourth singles. Chin defeated Lindsey Burke, 6-3, 6-1 making the score 4-3 and leaving the Tartans one-point shy of their second ITA indoor national championship in four years.  

However, after winning the first set 6-3 at fifth singles Pratt dropped the next two by the scores of 6-4, 6-4 to Sadler.  With the victory for the Generals, the score was knotted at 4-4 with six singles to finish.  Washington & Lee's Patricia Kirkland won a straight set match, 6-4, 7-5, over Tartan senior Cze-Ja Tam (Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) to seal the championship for the Generals.

The Tartans and Generals will meet again on March 31 when Washington & Lee travels to Pittsburgh.