ATLANTA (May 11, 2013) – The No. 15th-ranked Sewanee women's tennis team advanced to the third-round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, as the Tigers defeated No. 16th-ranked Washington & Lee 5-4 on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta.
Early on the Tigers dominated doubles. At No. 2 Bronte Goodhue and Anne Garland opened the scores with an 8-5 victory over Meghan Buell and Chelsea Mixson.
Moments later, teammates Jenny Liles and Lindsey Liles then matched that same score with another 8-5 win for Sewanee at No. 1.
The Tigers then pushed their lead to 3-0 after Annie Veron and Julia Wood outlasted Sallie Griffin and Claire Cahill by a score of 8-4.
W&L finally got on the board when the Generals opened singles with a victory by Mixson at No. 5.
After Sonja Meighan topped Goodhue in straight sets at No. 1, W&L tied the match at 3-3 when Buell won a long three-set match at No. 2 against Jenny Liles.
The Generals then took their only lead of the contest when Christina Douglas topped Mary Taylor Tepper in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6.
Suddenly with its lead gone, Sewanee needed a win just to stay alive.
After taking the first set 7-6, Veron evened the scores when the freshman rolled in the second set 6-2.
With all but one match completed and the score tied at 4-4, all eyes turned to Court 3 where Lindsey Liles was battling Patricia Kirkland.
In the first set Kirkland easy opened the match with a 6-1 win. However, with her back against the wall, Liles rallied in the second winning the set 6-4.
With the match on the line, the two players battled into a third-set tiebreaker. Holding an 8-7 edge in the tiebreaker, Liles utilized an underhand serve after faulting on her first attempt, and was able to win the point and the match for Sewanee.
With the win, Sewanee (19-5) is schedule to play on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The Tigers will face the winner of the other second-round match between Emory and Trinity (Texas). The winner of Sunday's third-round match will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Also on Sunday, three Tigers will participate in the University's Commencement service while Jenny Liles will be honored as the Class of 2013 Valedictorian.
For more information on Sewanee Athletics, please visit www.SewaneeTigers.com. You can also check the Tigers out on Twitter (Sewaneeathletic) and Facebook (SewaneeAthletics).
