No. 8 Tartans Advance to NCAA Division III Regional Final

(CHICAGO, Ill.) – The eighth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team defeated Hope College, 5-2, in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship on Friday, May 9 in Chicago, Illinois.  The Tartans improve to 18-4 and will make their seventh straight appearance in the regional championship, and ninth in the last 10 years. Hope finishes its season with a dual mark of 17-6.   

Carnegie Mellon took a 2-1 lead following doubles play with victories at No. 2 and No.3. The tandem of junior Lydia Utkin (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) and sophomore Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) claimed the first point for the Tartans as they defeated Marie Holaway and Mallory Smith 8-4 at No. 3.  The Tartans then grabbed a 2-0 lead when junior Angela Pratt (Saratoga, Calif./St. Francis) and freshman Nicholle Torres (Weston, Fla./Great Neck South) won at No. 2 over Claire Cooper and Anna Garcia  8-5.  The Flying Dutch earned the remaining point of doubles with a 9-8 (2) victory at No.1.

Tsu and senior Katie Cecil (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) gave the Tartans a 4-1 edge, as both won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 4 singles.  Tsu won 6-4, 6-1 in the four spot prior to Cecil winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2.  

After dropping a point at No. 1 singles, Torres clinched the match by defeating Carli Capestany at No. 3 singles.  Torres dropped the first set 6-4 before winning 6-4 and 6-1 in sets two and three, respectively.

Carnegie Mellon will face Chicago on Saturday for a chance to return to the national quarterfinals for the second time in the past three years. The match is set to start at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.