From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago women's tennis team came away with the Midwest Invite team title after a pair of wins over Kenyon College and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday.
The No. 15-ranked Maroons improved to 8-3 and was the second seed out of 11 team participating.. The Ladies dropped to 8-8 and the No. 26-ranked Warhawks fell to 18-3.
In the semifinals, the Maroons took on Kenyon in an early morning match. The Ladies captured a pair of singles victories in three sets at No. 1 and No. 4. But the rest of the matches were all UChicago, who won the other four singles handily in straight sets. The No. 1 doubles duo of freshman Rachel Kim and senior Lucy Tang blew past their opponents 8-2 as well, allowed the Maroons to capture the clinching team point and advance to the final.
In the championship, UChicago took on fifth-seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Warhawks had previously upset the top-seed Washington University-St. Louis 5-4 during the morning session.
Wisconsin-Whitewater grabbed the early momentum by taking a 2-1 lead after doubles. UChicago got its first point from the No. 1 spot with Tang and Kim winning 8-6. But singles was a different story as the Maroons finished off the Warhawks by winning four out of the five completed matches. Tang took her match at No. 3 in three sets while the three other winners did not surrender more than four games in their straight-set victories.
On the day, Tang was a perfect 4-0 between singles and doubles, while junior Tiffany Chen and freshman Kat Stevanovich won both their singles bouts at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Kim was 3-1 between No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.
"It's a great feeling to recapture the Midwest Invite championship again," said Head Coach Jay Tee. "It's been a couple years since we won it last so it feels good to be back on top of the region. We played hard and fought off some tough competition and found a way to win some close matches. Hopefully this gives us some confidence as we head into the last month of the season."
UChicago 5, Kenyon 2
Singles
1. Diana Aboubakare (KEN) def. Ariana Iranpour (UC) 7-5, 4-6, 11-9
2. Rachel Kim (UC) def. Jenna Murray (KEN) 6-1, 6-1
3. Lucy Tang (UC) def. Maggie Sweeney (KEN) 6-3, 6-2
4. Samantha Murphy (KEN) def. Kaela Bynoe (UC) 6-4, 2-6, 10-2
5. Tiffany Chen (UC) def. Grace Winslow (KEN) 6-1, 6-1
6. Kat Stevanovich (UC) def. Annie Reiner (KEN) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
1. Rachel Kim/Lucy Tang (UC) def. Alyssa Moreau/Samantha Murphy (KEN) 8-2
2. Ariana Iranpour/Courtney Warren (UC) vs. Maggie Sweeney/Grace Winslow (KEN) 4-4, unfinished
3. Tiffany Chen/Stephanie Lee (UC) vs. Diana Aboubakare/Jenna Murray (KEN) unfinished
UChicago 5, Wisconsin-Whitewater 3
Singles
1. Ariana Iranpour (UC) def. Megan Humphreys (UWW) 6-2, 6-2
2. Gabi Kitchell (UWW) def. Rachel Kim (UC) 7-6, 6-3
3. Lucy Tang (UC) def. Bridgid McGuire (UWW) 6-4, 6-7, 10-4
4. Kaela Bynoe (UC) vs. Alexandra Talyansky (UWW) 6-2, 5-6, unfinished
5. Tiffany Chen (UC) def. Jillian Wallace (UWW) 6-2, 6-2
6. Kat Stevanovich (UC) def. Alicia Beck (UWW) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. Rachel Kim/Lucy Tang (UC) def. Megan Humphreys/Bridgid McGuire (UWW) 8-6
2. Alicia Beck/Jillian Wallace (UWW) def. Ariana Iranpour/Courtney Warren (UC) 8-6
3. Gabi Kitchell/Alexandra Talyansky (UWW) def. Tiffany Chen/Stephanie Lee (UC) 8-4