Orlando, FL – On the third and final day of the NCAA tournament in Orlando matches were pushed 2 hours back due to 90? heat.
Erica Ekstrand and
Yuu Ishikawa geared up to play in the semifinals of the doubles draw. By getting this far in the tournament, Ekstrand and Ishikawa both earned themselves All-American doubles honors. In addition, Ekstrand advanced to the semifinals in the singles draw, and therefore will receive her second All-American honor for singles as well.
The first match of the day was played against and Abby Moghtader and Lauren Quinn from the University of Mary Washington who eliminated the number 3 seed, a Wesleyan pair, who had defeated Ekstrand and Ishikawa earlier this season. The first set, however, seemed to cruise by with ease for the Ephs. There was a clear imbalance of confidence that tilted towards the Ephs, and it enabled them to play loose and with conviction. Getting two up was a huge success for this doubles pair, as the two imposed and got many points by serving and volleying and being aggressive at the net. They took the first set 6-2.
Their opponents regrouped to start the second set, and began cleaning up their game and hitting with more ferocity. The two up strategy proved a little more difficult to hold for the Ephs, as the UMW tandem started to put together their lobbing game. There were many more strong baseline rallies in this set that mixed in slices, lobs, two-up, and two back. The Ephs went down a game to start off the set, and even found themselves down 5-3 in the set.
In an incredible comeback facing set points, Ekstrand and Ishikawa were able to maintain their focus and composure to crawl back to 5-5. They eventually went into a second set tiebreaker that was ultimately decided by the team that chose to stay mentally tough and not let the pressure take over. It was abundantly clear that the Ephs were comfortable in this sort of situation, and let the errors reel in from their opponents, while Ekstrand and Ishikawa played their usual gritty game. In an amazing effort, the Ephs took the second set 7-6, booking their spot in the NCAA doubles finals.
Being the first semifinals match to finish and having to wait for a rain delay, the duo was able to catch a breath before the finals commenced.
The 10:00 PM championship match paired NESCAC foes Williams and Tufts. Ekstrand and Ishikawa faced Elle Christensen and Tilly Rigby from Tufts.
The Jumbos duo won in straight sets registering three breaks in the first set in posting a 6-1 win.
In the second set the Ephs played with two back and it bothered the Jumbos early as the Ephs knotted the match at 3 all with a service break. "Tufts was able to neutralize our two back and we just did not have the execution that we needed, " said Eph head coach
Anik Cepeda.
The Tufts tandem fashioned three straight wins at three all to register a 6-3 win and capture the NCAA title.
"I'm really proud of our team because it took a lot for us to even get to this point with all of the physical challenges we had this season," noted Cepeda. "Tufts just had a little better execution in this match. I'm really excited about the future of our program."
Complete Results:
Semifinals:
Erica Ekstrand /
Yuu Ishikawa, Williams vs. Abby Moghtader/Lauren Quinn, Mary Washington
Williams — 6-2, 7-6
FINALS:
Erica Ekstrand /
Yuu Ishikawa, Williams vs. Tilly Rigby/Elle Christensen, Tufts
Tufts — 6-1, 6-3
