Tartans Win Thriller, Advances to NCAA Sweet 16

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Freshman Abbey Hamstra (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley) won 6-4, 6-4 to lead the eighth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team to a thrilling 5-4 victory over the University of Mary Washington on Saturday, May 11. With the team score tied 4-4, Hamstra pulled out the straight-set victory to propel the Tartans to the third round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Championships.

The Tartans improve to 14-7 and will make their sixth straight appearance in the regional championship, and eighth in nine years. The Eagles finish the season with a dual-match record of 20-5. Carnegie Mellon will take on #7 Johns Hopkins University on Sunday for a chance to return to the national quarterfinals for the second straight year.

Carnegie Mellon grabbed a 1-0 lead, as sophomore Bryn Raschke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and freshman Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) won 8-1 at No. 2 doubles.  Mary Washington earned the remaining two points in doubles play, winning 8-6 and 8-5 at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.

Tsu and Elizabeth Martin (St. Simons Island, Ga./Frederica Academy) gave the Tartans a 3-2 edge, as both freshmen won in straight sets at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.  Tsu won 6-1, 6-0 in the number four spot prior to Martin winning 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3.  The Eagles were fast to respond, taking the next two points with victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to reclaim the lead, 4-3.

Raschke knotted the score at 4-4 with a straight-set victory at No. 6.  The sophomore trailed 2-1 in the first set before winning 11 straight games to win 6-2, 6-0.

The regional final is set to start at noon on Sunday, May 12.  The Blue Jays have defeated the Tartans twice this season by the score of 5-4 in both matches.