CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago women's tennis team kept the proceedings close, but Carnegie Mellon University pulled away to win 5-1 in the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Sunday.
The No. 15-ranked Maroons finish their season with a 13-12 record. The No. 5-ranked Tartans improve to 17-6 and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Sunday's match featured the two top teams in the six-team regional, with UChicago serving as the host. Due to wet conditions, the contest was moved indoors.
With important doubles points at stake, Carnegie Mellon got the lead by winning 8-1 at No. 2 doubles. But the Maroons struck back at No. 1 doubles as senior Megan Tang and junior Lucy Tang combined to beat their opponents 8-4. The No. 3 doubles match went back and forth the whole way and the tandems found themselves tied at 7-7. However, the Tartans earned a service break and then finished off the match, 9-7.
The Tartans moved ahead 3-1 after winning at No. 6 singles. The singles matches remained close throughout. UChicago won a trio of first sets at No. 2 with freshman Jasmine Lee, No. 3 with sophomore Tiffany Chen and No. 5 with junior Stephanie Lee. The Maroons were poised to earn wins at No. 3 and No. 4, but Carnegie Mellon clinched the necessary team points at No. 1 singles and No. 4 singles in succession.
This marks the seventh-straight year that the Maroons have reached the regional final. The senior class of Megan Tang, Kelsey McGillis and Maggie Schumann compiled a four-year team record of 66-34 (.660 winning percentage).
Carnegie Mellon 5, UChicago 1
Singles
1. Vanessa Pavia (CMU) def. Megan Tang (UC) 6-3, 7-5
2. Jasmine Lee (UC) vs. Angela Pratt (CMU) 6-2, 3-6, 1-2, unfinished
3. Tiffany Chen (UC) vs. Nicholle Torres (CMU) 7-6 (7-2), 4-2, unfinished
4. Brooke Tsu (CMU) def. Lucy Tang (UC) 6-4, 7-5
5. Stephanie Lee (UC) vs. Cori Sidell (CMU) 6-2, 6-5, unfinished
6. Bryn Raschke (CMU) def. Maggie Schumann (UC) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1. Megan Tang/Lucy Tang (UC) def. Bryn Raschke/Cori Sidell (CMU) 8-4
2. Vanessa Pavia/Stacy Chang (CMU) def. Tiffany Chen/Sruthi Ramaswami (UC) 8-1
3. Nicholle Torres/Brooke Tsu (CMU) def. Stephanie Lee/Maggie Schumann (UC) 9-7
