Orlando, FL - The NCAA Division III women's tennis individual tournament began today in sunny Orlando, Florida. For Williams women's tennis the day kicked off with singles. Unfortunately, the day ended with both singles and doubles losses, which marks the end of the Williams women's tennis season.
Senior and captain
Katherine Orgielewicz, who played number one singles this year with an overall record of 12-9. She played the fifth seed from Case Western Reserve University. The Spartie started off strong, taking the first set 6-1. Orgielewicz reflects, "She could change direction well and take advantage of any short ball." Her forehand handled Orgielewicz's pace, and Orgielewicz struggled to find a foothold in the match, ultimately falling 6-1 6-1.
Head coach
Anik Cepeda reflects, "Today's singles match was disappointing, but we are anything but disappointed in K and all her efforts this season. She held down the #1 spot with class and grit and made all of us very proud."
After the rounds of singles completed, doubles went underway. Number one doubles team this season, Orgielewicz and
Yuu Ishikawa, took on a team from John Hopkins in their first round. Orgielewicz holds an overall 17-5 winning record in doubles this year, while Ishikawa holds a 16-7 record.
John Hopkins came out strong, taking a 4-2 lead and holding it to win the first set 6-3. They kept the momentum up even when Orgielewicz and Ishikawa found an early 3-1 lead in the second. Climbing back to 3-3, John Hopkins remained steady and won the second set 6-4. Orgielewicz says, "They were two tricky lefty freshmen that capitalized on getting their forehand poaches before we did."
At the conclusion of the day's matches and the end of competition for Williams College, Cepeda adds, "Congrats to K and Yuu on a great season of doubles. Today just wasn't our day. We're going to miss our seniors, Maya and Katherine. This match officially concludes our 2023 season. It was a tough NCAA swing for us - not getting the team bid and losing in the first round of both draws, but that doesn't capture all the growth and success they experienced as a team and individually. The coaches are guessing everyone will be pretty fired up next year."
Scores:
Singles:
Hannah Kassaie, CWRU (5) def.
Katherine Orgielewicz (Williams)
6-1, 6-1
Doubles:
Kamila Wong/Jay Xiao (Johns Hopkins) def.
Katherine Orgielewicz /
Yuu Ishikawa (Williams)
6-3, 6-4
