Women's Tennis Topples Top-Seeded Princeton to Advance at ECACs

Saturday, February 13

Cambridge, Mass.

2:00 p.m.

Dartmouth College

Princeton

Women's Tennis Topples Top-Seeded Princeton to Advance at ECACs

2/13/2010 9:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Dartmouth

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - The fifth-seeded Dartmouth women's tennis team knocked off top-seeded Princeton 4-3 in the semis of the ECAC Winter Championship this afternoon at Harvard.

Princeton came into the tournament as the country's No. 47 ranked team. This marks Dartmouth's third win over a nationally ranked team in one week, as the Big Green topped No. 69 Boston University last weekend, and No. 63 Brown in the ECAC first round yesterday. Dartmouth remains undefeated and now moves to 7-0.

Dartmouth swept the doubles point as junior Molly Scott (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) and senior Mary Beth Winingham (Carmel, Ind.), ranked No. 4 in the ITA Northeast Region, bested the country's No. 16 team Hilary Bartlettt and Taylor Marable 8-5. This was the undefeated Big Green duo's second consecutive win over a nationally ranked team as the Brown team they beat yesterday is ranked No. 29 in the country.

Freshman Sarah Leonard (Norwalk, Conn.) and sophomore Carissa King (Charlotte, N.C.) dominated 8-2 at No. 2, and senior co-captain Jesse Adler (Winnetka, Ill.) and junior Georgiana Smsyer (Houston, Texas) battled back from a 7-3 deficit to win 9-8 at No. 3.

Playing singles on three courts, Dartmouth immediately got wins at No. 1 and No. 3 as Scott, the region's No. 8 player, won her second consecutive match over a nationally ranked opponent after yesterday besting Brown's No. 89 ranked player, Casey Herzberg.

Today, Scott defeated the country's No. 121 player and the Northeast region's No. 3 player, Hilary Bartlett, 6-4, 6-3, while Winingham downed the Tigers' blue-chip freshman recruit Monica Chow 6-0, 6-2. Smyser fell 7-6, 6-1 at No. 5 to Taylor Marable and Reichel was downed in straight sets at No. 6 by Blakely Ashley.

Dartmouth clinched the match when No. 2 Leonard bested Melissa Saiontz, the region's No. 4 player, 7-5, 6-1. Princeton got its third point when Rachel Saiontz edged Adler in a third set super-breaker at No. 4.

Dartmouth plays in the final tomorrow at 2 p.m. against No. 3 seed Yale, who upset the second-seeded Harvard Crimson.

Dartmouth College 4, No. 47 Princeton University 3

Singles:
1.    Molly Scott (D) def. No. 121 Hilary Bartlett (P) 6-4, 6-3
2.    Sarah Leonard (D) def. Melissa Saiontz (P) 7-5, 6-1
3.    Mary Beth Winingham (D) def. Monica Chow (P) 6-0, 6-2
4.    Jesse Adler (D) lost to Rachel Saiontz (P) 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-6)
5.    Georgiana Smyser (D) lost to Taylor Marable (P) 7-6, 6-1
6.    Ryan Reichel (D) lost to Blakely Ashley (P) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles:
1. Scott-Winingham (D) def. Bartlett-Marable (P) 8-5
2. Leonard-Carissa King (D) def. R. Saiontz-Chow (P) 8-2
3. Adler-Smyser (D) def. M. Saiontz-Sarah Hoffman (P) 9-8