Ephs Down #7 Middlebury, 7-2

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Saturday marked the first home match of the spring for the Ephs, as well as the first of senior weekend. In a match played indoors, Williams squared off within the conference against Middlebury College, securing victory 7-2. In the latest ITA rankings, Williams is seeded #2 and Middlebury is #7. This win brings the Ephs to 8-2 overall on the year, and 3-0 at home.

Doubles got the match off to a fast start, going 3-0. Juli Raventos '18 and Linda Shin '17 led throughout their 8-2 victory over Middlebury's Ria Gerger and Kaysee Orozco. Teams Julia Cancio '18 and Hannah Atkinson '17, as well as Mia Gancayco '18 and Maya Hart '16 both fell behind 3-4. Cancio and Atkinson went on to win 5 straight sets and end 8-4. Gancayco and Hart also battled back to secure an 8-5 victory.

"We have been working on our match starts this past week back on campus and I think that showed in our doubles today, in particular," said head coach Alison Swain.

Middlebury fought back in singles when junior Alexandra Fields overcame Eph Gancayco, bringing the score to 3-1. This was the closest Middlebury came, however, as Raventos and Shin followed with wins at 7-5, 6-4 and 6-0,6-4, respectively. The win by Raventos clinched the match for Williams. Cancio and Leah Bush '19 also secured singles victories. Hannah Atkinson fell in three sets to Middlebury first-year Christina Puccinelli to bring the final score to 7-2.

"Middlebury is a top team in the country," said Swain after the win, "So we are feeling great about the way we competed and coming out with the win today."

Tomorrow, the Ephs continue to face conference opponents when they will play #8 Wesleyan and unranked Connecticut College. These matches will also be held indoors, and the Wesleyan match will be played only until determination at 5 points. When asked about having three conference matches in such a short period of time, Swain remarked "I actually think it's a great opportunity for us. It's our senior weekend so we are really excited to have lots of families in town and celebrate the contributions of our two seniors, Alex and Maya."

The match against Wesleyan will begin at 9:30 AM Sunday, with the match against Connecticut to follow that afternoon.

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