#9 Tartans Excell in NCAA Match Against #22 Kenyon

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team, ranked ninth in the nation, defeated 22nd-ranked Kenyon College on Friday afternoon in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship by a 5-1 score. The match was played on the Tartans' home court.

A doubles sweep helped the Tartans jump out to a lead as the six singles matches were tightly contested. The number three pair of senior Katie Lai (Hagatna, Guam / St. Andrew's Episcopal School) and junior Jamie Vizelman (Highland Heights, Ohio / Mayfield) began the scoring with an 8-2 victory. Not much time passed before the number two pair of sophomore Vinaya Rao (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) and freshman Melissa Strome (West Bloomfield, Mich. / West Bloomfield) defeated their opponents 8-3. The final point came a first doubles where senior Cori Sidell (Redwood Shores, Calif. / Carlmont) and sophomore Courtney Ollis (Suffern, N.Y. / Suffern) won 8-6.

Vizelman was the first to complete singles play with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at third singles. Kenyon picked up its point at number two singles before Strome came from behind to win a three-set match, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, at fifth singles for the match win.

The Tartans move on to the regional final of the NCAA tournament for the 12th time in school history and will face the winner of fifth-ranked Wesleyan University and Hope College.