LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – It took a decade for
the Williams College women's tennis team to avenge a loss in an
NCAA title match to archrival Amherst College (1999) and Alison
Swain's Ephs were not about to let a 2-1 deficit after doubles keep
them from repeating as NCAA champions.
Swain's determined Eph netters rattled off four straight set
singles wins to capture the fourth NCAA title in Williams history
and the second under Swain by a 5-2 score.
Amherst needed only a split in the six singles matches to take
home the title, but the Ephs were in no mood to cooperate and they
denied the Lord Jeffs a singles win.
"We came back from a 2-1 deficit last year to win, but we had been
starting off slow in singles play," said Swain.
The Ephs trailed early in five of six singles matches until junior
Grace Baljon took a lead at the top of the ladder, 3-2 over Bittany
Berkes and sophomore Nikki Reich went up 4-3 on Amherst's Jill
Wexler at three singles.
"When Grace [Baljon], Nikki [Reich] and Lucy [Marchese] won their
first sets you could feel the energy shift," said Swain. "I said to
myself, we're okay, we can do this. I knew Kristin [Alotta] would
win and I knew Cary and Annie would fight."
Reich and classmate Lucy Marchese were the first off the court as
they both claimed convincing victories. Reich took down Wexler 6-4,
6-3, while Marchese got the best of Laken King 6-4, 6-0 at five
singles.
Sophomore Kristin Alotta recorded her 25th straight win when she
beat Natasha Brown 7-5, 6-4. The win raised Alotta's singles record
to 29-1 on the year.
Baljon collected the fourth Eph win as she disposed of Berkes 6-4,
6-3. Seniors Cary Gibson at two singles and Annie Hancock at six
had their matches suspended when the Ephs recorded their fifth
point.
"This was a totally unbelieveable team effort throughout," gushed
Swain. "These kids never stopped believing. "They got the message
when Julie Greenwood [Swain's predecessor] spoke to them after the
Round of 16. Julie told the team that there will be plenty of
opportunities in each match they played to win and these girls
seized every one of those opportunities. They would not go
down."
"I'm so, so proud of this team – their spirit and
determination was inspiring," said Swain.
This marks the second time the Ephs have won back-to-back NCAA
titles, having accomplished the feat previously in 2001 and 2002
under Julie Greenwood. Current head coach Alison Swain played on
the Ephs' first NCAA title team in 2001. Now Swain has directed her
first two Williams teams to NCAA titles and has a sparkling 10-0
NCAA Tournament record.
Both Williams and Amherst finished the year with identical 21-2
records. Both losses for each team came at the hands of their
archrival. The Eph win snapped a 21-match Amherst win streak that
was started after they lost their first match of the fall to the
Ephs in Amherst 6-3.
With four NCAA titles the Ephs trail only Emory (5) for the most
titles in NCAA Division III play. The Ephs are now 43-13 (.768)
all-time in NCAA play and 4-2 in championship matches.
Williams is now 2-2 vs. Amherst all-time in NCAA Tournament
action. Williams was the first NCAA Division III women's tennis
team to repeat as national champions (2001 & 2002). The Ephs
have now won four NCAA titles in the last nine seasons.
Doubles
1. Brittany Berckes/Natasha Brown (A) def. Nikki
Reich/Cary Gibson (W) – 8-3
2. Taylor French/Grace Baljon (W) def. Anuja
Ankola/Amelia Bell (A) – 8-1
3. Laura Danzig/Jill Wexler (A) def. Kristin
Alotta/Annie Hancock (W) -- 8-2
Singles
1. Grace Baljon (W) vs. Brittany Berckes (A) --
6-4, 6-3
2. Cary Gibson (W) vs. Carlissa King (A) -- DNF
3. Nikki Reich (W) vs. Jill Wexler (A) -- 6-4, 6-3
4. Kristin Alotta (W) vs. Natasha Brown (A) -- 7-5,
6-4
5. Lucy Marchese (W) vs. Laken King (A) -- 6-4,
6-0
6. Annie Hancock (W) vs. Amelia Bell (A) -- DNF
