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Women's Tennis

Maroons Advance to National Championship Match

CARY, N.C. -- For the first time in the program's history, the University of Chicago women's tennis team has advanced to the national title match, following a 5-1 win over Amherst College in the semifinal round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship Tuesday afternoon.

The Maroons will take on four-time defending national champion Williams College Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. (ET).

Summary & Highlights

  • Amherst (18-3) took an early lead with an 8-0 win from Safi Aly and Caroline Richman at No. 3 doubles.

  • Chicago (23-4) evened the score with an 8-6 victory from senior Jennifer Kung (Sunnyvale, Calif./ Homestead) and junior Linden Li (Great Falls, Va./ Langley) at No. 2 doubles, then took a 2-1 lead in the match when seniors Kendra Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./ Vero Beach) and Carmen VacaGuzman (Wyoming, Mich./ Grandville) prevailed 8-6 at No. 1.

  • Kung won the day's first completed singles match 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2, giving the Maroons a 3-1 edge in the match.

  • Freshman Kelsey McGillis (Great Falls, Va./ Flint Hill) quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles to put Chicago within one win of taking the match.

  • Higgins then sent the Maroons into the championship final with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles.

Match by Match Results

Singles
1. Kendra Higgins (UCW) def. Laura Danzig (A) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. Jennifer Kung (UCW) def. Jennifer Newman (A) 6-4, 6-0
3. Carmen VacaGuzman (UCW) vs. Caroline Richman (A) 1-6, 2-5, unfinished
4. Linden Li (UCW) vs. Zoe Pangalos (A) 1-6, 5-5, unfinished
5. Megan Tang (UCW) vs. Gabby Devlin (A) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
6. Kelsey McGillis (UCW) vs. Safi Aly (A) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
1. Higgins/VacaGuzman (UCW) def. Danzig/Devlin (A) 8-6
2. Kung/Li (UCW) def. Newman/Pangalos (A) 8-6
3. Aly/Richman (A) def. McGillis/Tang (UCW) 8-0

Notes

  • Wednesday's match will mark the second time in school history that a University of Chicago team will play in a Division III title game (women's soccer lost the 2003 national championship final in overtime).

  • Chicago's No. 1 doubles tandem of Higgins and VacaGuzman remained undefeated (18-0) against Division III opponents. They extended their overall winning streak to 17 matches, as did Kung and Li playing at No. 2.

  • Tuesday's contest marked the third meeting between Chicago and Amherst in NCAA tournament play in the past four years. Amherst won both of the previous matchups, a 5-4 win in the 2009 semifinals and a 5-2 decision in the third-place match in 2010.

  • Chicago extended its winning streak to 14 matches -- by a combined score of 95-11 -- and improved to 20-1 against Division III opponents.

  • Meredith College and the Town of Cary, N.C., are hosting this year's NCAA Championship.
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