No. 13 Women's Tennis Upset by No. 18 Sewanee in NCAA Regional Semifinals

RESULTS

Sewanee, Tenn., May 13, 2011 – The No. 13 Washington University in St. Louis women’s tennis team was upset by No. 18 Sewanee University in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday in Sewanee, Tenn.

Washington U. was making its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth overall under head coach Kelly Stahlhuth. The Bears had won eight of their final 10 matches of the regular season and entered the NCAA Tournament on a hot streak as the No. 2 seed in their regional pod.

The Bears were hoping to make back-to-back trips to the regional final for the first time since 2004, but the Red and Green fell behind 3-0 through doubles action which proved to be too large a deficit to overcome.

Sewanee grabbed a 1-0 lead as Laura Szperski and Lindsay Wilburn took an 8-4 decision over sophomore Paige Madara and freshman Corinne Rauck at No. 3 doubles. In the No. 1 match junior Natalie Tingir and freshman Evelyn Qin dropped a tight contest 8-6, giving Sewanee a 2-0 lead.

The second doubles match was the closest of the day, but the Tigers prevailed once again with Michelle Flume and Anne Garland outlasting Washington University senior Elise Sambol and freshman Theresa Petraskova 9-8 (7-4) to complete the sweep.

Only No. 1 and No. 2 singles were played to completion, with Sewanee winning both matches. Kate Stanford earned a 7-6, 6-2, win over Tingir in the No. 1 match, while Qin fell 6-2, 6-0, to Jenny Liles in the second slot. Flume led WUSTL sophomore Kate Klein 6-3, 3-3, at No. 3 singles, which was the only other contest underway when the match was decided.

Washington University concludes its 2010-11 campaign with a 16-6 overall mark and a third-place finish in the University Athletic Association (UAA). It was the 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history for Washington University, which falls to 7-12 all-time in postseason play.