Women’s Tennis: Garnet End Mules Streak
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Swarthmore (8-2 overall, 5-0 Centennial) won its 23rd consecutive conference match, defeating Muhlenberg 7-2 on Tuesday afternoon. The Garnet ended the Mules 33-game home winning streak and set up a match for first place in the Centennial with Washington on April 13.
The Garnet rolled through the doubles' competition, sweeping all three matches to grab an early lead. Sonya Reynolds '07 and Marissa Matthews '07, ranked eighth in the Atlantic South region, fought past the Mules' No. 1 pair of Amy Schmidt and Carly Rotfeld (ranked ninth in the region) by a score of 8-5. At No. 2, freshman Jennie Park and sophomore Erica Lukoski overcame the Mules' Pam Kimmelman and Jenn Powell 9-7 and Swarthmore senior Jenna Adelberg and junior Waverly Lutz breezed to an 8-0 win at No. 3 over Muhlenberg's Stacy Lipshuctz and Jacquelyn Magner.
Schmidt, ranked third in the region for singles, delt Reynolds only her second defeat (the first came to top-ranked Emily Applegate from W&L) of the season 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. The two have a historic rivalry that includes Reynolds upsetting Schmidt at the 2005 Centennial Conference Championships on her way to the singles' title.
Park completed a double dip by dispatching Kimmelman at No. 2 singles 7-5, 6-2; the freshman has now won seven of her first eight collegiate matches, including a perfect 4-0 in Centennial play.
Matthews also won both times she stepped on the court Tuesday; the junior used little time in rolling past Rotfield 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
Junior Sara Sargent won her third Centennial match of the season, downing Lipshutz at No. 5 singles 6-2, 7-5 while Lutz rolled past Kelly Fraser 7-5, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
The Garnet, currently ranked 24th in the country, welcome Washington (Md.) to Faulkner Courts on Thursday, April 13 in a 3:30 p.m. match that will decide first place in the Centennial Conference.