Ephs Edge Middlebury 6-3 in First Round of NESCAC Championships

HARTFORD, CT – This weekend the Ephs traveled to Trinity College to compete in the NESCAC Championship Tournament. The Ephs are seeded #4, and were set to compete against Middlebury in the first round. Ultimately, the Ephs had a strong showing and beat Middlebury 6-3.

First on court were Christina Yen, Rhea Pandit, Amanda Solecki, and Nora Brant. Pandit won a decisive three game match, posting the first point on the board for the Ephs. After dropping the first game 11-13, Brant came back stronger than ever to confidently win the next three games and take the match, posting the second point for the Ephs. Meanwhile, Yen lost in a close three games, and Solecki managed to snag the second game, but ultimately lost her match as well.

Heading into the next round of matches, the Ephs were 2-2 with Middlebury. On court were Melanie Wang, Rachel Miller, Theresa Kay and Naomi Jefferson-Sambanis. Miller won a strong three games, staying focused and hitting accurate drop shots. Jefferson-Sambanis also won a close five game battle, with mental fortitude and smart shots to bring the Ephs to a score of 4-2. At the same time, Wang lost a close five game battle against a strong opponent. Kay stayed determined through a five game match, returning from a 6-2 deficit in the fifth game to win the match 11-7.

At this point, the Ephs had captured the match. Using a four-court system this weekend, Anika Kakarla competed in the final round of matches. Kakarla was very focused from the get-go and captured the match in four decisive games, giving the Ephs a score of 6-3. 

Eph head coach Hesham Aly commented after the match, "I'm proud of how the team played today. Middlebury is a strong competitor and we showed up, and managed to capture some very close matches". The Ephs face #1 seeded Trinity tomorrow in the semifinals.