No. 6 Tartans Advance to Fifth Straight ITA National Team Indoor Championship Title Match

(GREENCASTLE, Ind.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team advanced to the championship of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fifth straight year with a 5-4 victory against Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, February 27. The Tartans, ranked sixth in the nation, are now 8-1 on the year while the Blue Jays, ranked 11th in the nation, are now 1-1.

The Tartans held a 2-1 lead after doubles play. Junior Nicholle Torres (Weston, Fla./Great Neck South) and senior Abbey Hamstra (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley) won the first point for the Tartans at number three doubles by an 8-5 score, while freshman Jamie Vizelman (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) and senior Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) won in a tiebreaker at number two doubles, 9-8 (8-6).

Torres gave the Tartans a 3-1 advantage with her 6-1, 6-4 win at second singles. Ashnaa Rao of Johns Hopkins then won a three-set match at first singles against Tsu to make the score 3-2.

Vizelman was the next to finish, as she won 6-0, 6-3 at fourth singles, leaving match-point in the air for the Tartans.

Sophomore Cori Sidell (Redwood Shores, Calif./Carlmont), playing at third singles, rallied from a set down to win in a tiebreaker in the third set to give the Tartans the team victory. Her final score was 5-7, 6-1, 7-6.

The Tartans advance to the championship match for the fifth straight year and sixth time in eight years of the tournament. Sunday's championship match will put the Tartans against seventh-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 10:00 a.m.