Ephs Defeat NYU 5-2

The doubles matches all unfolded as resilient battles against formidable opponents. At #1 doubles, Erica Ekstrand and Yuu Ishikawa pulled off yet another great win. Despite trailing for the majority of the match, the team got the break at 6-5 to shift the momentum and won 8-6. Margaux Molyneux and Jane Ladaga got off to a strong start at #2 doubles, but their opponents adjusted their strategy. Despite battling back and forth, the Eph duo fell 7-8 (6). Annabelle Siegel and Ahn Lin saved seven match points at #3 doubles to win 8-7 (6). The pair managed to make multiple comebacks throughout the match, most notably after being down 3-6 in the tiebreaker, they won five points in a row to help the Ephs go up 2-1.

After incredibly close doubles matches, the Ephs were challenged again in singles play. Ladaga secured the first singles win at #4, locking in early in the first set and fending off a hard-hitter to claim victory with a score of 6-1, 7-6 (3). Mia Thomann swiftly followed, mounting a comeback from being down 0-3 to triumph in her #3 singles match with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6 (2).

At #1 and #2 singles, both Ishikawa and Siegel once again lost their first sets, but turned it around to win their second sets. Ishikawa stayed true to her game in a very competitive match against a feisty hard hitter. Ishikawa was not overpowered and there was amazing tennis on both sides of the net, but unfortunatly she fell 6-8 in the third set tiebreaker. Siegel, encountering a rare match of equal power, found herself down 3-5 in the third set but remarkably saved yet another match point. Staying confident  , she won the set 7-5 and clinched the dual match for the Ephs!

Unfortunately, following Siegel's clinching victory, the #5 and #6 singles matches were cut short due to a lack of court availability. At #5, Ananya Aggarwal started strong, winning the first set 6-2. Despite being down 3-4 in the second set, she felt confident in her ability to close out the match. Meanwhile, Julia Zhang faced a challenging opponent at #6. Although she lost the first set 2-6, she began finding her rhythm at the start of the second set. 

Eph head coach Anik Cepeda expressed, "The coaches hope the team takes a lot of confidence from this incredibly challenging road win. It was a full team effort. Shout out to all nine for figuring it out and turning it on when it mattered the most — they may have not played or felt our best today, but they competed really well across the board."

Williams women's tennis is set to return home next weekend for their first conference matches of the season against Tufts and Bates, promising more exciting tennis action on their home courts.

Results:
Doubles:
1. Yuu Ishikawa/Erica Ekstrand vs. Dakota Fordham/Isabella Hartman 8-6
2. Margaux Molyneux/Jane Ladaga vs. Jimena Menendez/Molly Heber 7-8 (6)
3. Annabelle Siegel/Ahn Lin vs. Tess Heber/Hannah Chang 8-7 (6)

Singles: 
1. Yuu Ishikawa vs. Jimena Menendez 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6)
2. Annabelle Siegel vs. Dakota Fordham 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Mia Thomann vs. Isabella Hartman 6-4, 7-6 (2)
4. Jane Ladaga vs. Aditi Narayan
5. Ananya Aggarwal vs. Tess Heber 6-1, 3-4
6. Julia Zhang vs. Ksenia Goel 2-6, 0-1