Ephs Win NESCAC Championship, NCAA Berth

LEWISTON, ME – After defeating fifth seeded Wesleyan University on Saturday, the first ranked Ephs swept Middlebury College 5-0 on their way to the NESCAC Championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Middlebury, seeded second, had defeated Amherst on Saturday to advance to the finals.

This is the eighth title overall for Williams, and the third for seniors Maya Hart and Alex Stone. 

Hart and Giulia McDonnel Nieto del Rio '18 got things started with a quick 8-3 victory, putting Williams on the board. Julia Cancio '18 and Hannah Atkinson '17 fell behind 3-4 but managed to serve to 4-4. They won the next 4 straight games for the 8-4 win. Juli Raventos '18 and Linda Shin '17 led throughout on their way to an 8-3 win to complete the 3-0 doubles sweep.

In singles, the Ephs were able to win 3 sets before Middlebury could counter. Atkinson got things started with a quick 6-0 win, Leah Bush '19 broke through a 4-4 tie in her first set to win 6-4, and Raventos secured her first set by a score of 6-3. By winning her second set 6-2, Bush brought the Ephs within one win of clinching. Atkinson supplied the victory with a 6-2 win of her own in the second set. Raventos was down in the second set, and Middlebury was leading in matches played by Mia Gancayco '18, Shin, and Cancio that did not finish.

"Winning the conference championship is a huge accomplishment for this team," said head coach Alison Swain. "Our conference is arguably one of the strongest in the country so it's almost like a mini national championship."

The Ephs now turn their attention to the NCAA Regionals beginning next weekend on Friday, May 13^th.

"We are so excited that it's NCAA Tournament time once again," commented Swain. "Our team will definitely keep working hard to prepare so we can be at our best competitively going forward."