< pair of victories over regionally-ranked opponents, Anne Lombardi ‘14 sparked the No. 29 nationally-ranked Carleton women’s tennis team to a convincing 8-1 win over Wheaton College (Ill.).
Lombardi first teamed with Joyce Yu ‘16 and defeated Wheaton’s top doubles pairing, 8-3. The Knights’ top tandem is currently ranked No. 18 in the regional rankings and could move up after defeating their No. 7-ranked opponents, Sarah Ray and Julie Buursma.
Lombardi, who is listed at No. 11 in the central region, then captured a first singles victory 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) over Ray, who is ranked No. 17 in the region. Yu also took her singles match 6-1, 6-1 for her second win of the day.
Caroline Greenberg ‘17, Molly Hemes ‘14, and Mikayla Becich ‘16 all were victorious in singles competition. Greenberg took the sixth spot 6-0, 6-1; Hemes won the fourth singles match at 6-3, 6-1; and Becich completed the string with a 6-2, 6-1 win at third singles.
Earlier, Greenberg and Hemes had joined forces to capture their doubles match, 8-3. Grace Davis ‘16 joined in the fun, combining with Becich to snap up the other doubles win at 8-3.
Just a few days later, the team improved its conference record to 6-0 (12-2 overall) with a 9-0 sweep of the College of Saint Benedict.
Carleton was again led by several dual winners. Lombardi won at first singles 6-2, 6-0 and added a doubles victory alongside Yu by a convincing 8-0 tally. Yu also prevailed in her fifth singles match 6-1, 6-2.
Katherine Greenberg ‘14 teamed once again with Molly Hemes for an 8-5 win, then both followed with singles victories of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-3 respectively.
The final multiple winner of the evening was Becich. She was a 6-2, 6-2 winner at third singles, a result that came on the heels of her joining Grace Davis for an 8-2 doubles win.
Also helping the Knights to the sweep was Claire Spencer ‘16, who was impressive in a win at second singles 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
The Knights now look forward to a big match against conference rival University of St. Thomas on Saturday, April 12. It will be the Knights’ first on-campus match of 2014, and the Tommies will be looking to avenge the 5-0 loss they absorbed against Carleton in the finals of the MIAC Playoffs last spring. Saturday’s match will be held at 1:00pm at the Bell Field Courts.
