Joanna Atwater's three-set victory at No. 5 singles clinched Bates' 5-4 victory at Wellesley on March 7, 2020. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen)
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The No. 32 nationally ranked Bates women's tennis team won two out of three doubles matches and split singles play 3-3 to defeat Wellesley 5-4 on Saturday, in the Bobcats' third consecutive non-conference victory over a NEWMAC opponent.
The host Blue (1-3) took the first point in doubles at the No. 1 position, where Selina Peng and Libby Chang defeated Bates senior Suzanne Elfman (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Anna Rozin (Toronto, Ontario) 8-3. But senior Lauren Hernandez (Chester, N.J.) and junior Hannah Sweeney (Franklin, Mass.) defeated Michaela Markwart and Michelle Shen 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and senior Isabelle Rovinski (New York, N.Y.) and junior Haley Washington (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) gave Bates a 2-1 lead with their 8-5 victory over Lily Chu and Cinji Lee.
Sweeney and Rozin both won in straight sets at the top of Bates' singles lineup, putting Bates in a 4-1 lead. Wellesley edged closer as Shen defeated Elfman in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 3 singles, and Peng defeated Hernandez in a second-set tiebreaker at fourth singles. But Bates first-year Joanna Atwater (Short Hills, N.J.) finished off a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 decision over Dana Feng at No. 5 singles for a 5-3 lead, clinching victory for Bates.
Bates (4-2) plays its first NESCAC match of the season next Saturday at 8:30am.
Bates 5, Wellesley 4 | March 7, 2020 at Wellesley
Doubles
1. Selina Peng/Libby Chang (W) def. Suzanne Elfman/Anna Rozin (B) 8-3
2. Lauren Hernandez/Hannah Sweeney (B) def. Michaela Markwart/Michelle Shen (W) 8-3
3. Isabelle Rovinski/Haley Washington (B) def. Lily Chu/Cinji Lee (W) 8-5
Singles
1. Sweeney (B) def. Markwart (W) 6-0, 6-0
2. Rozin (B) def. Chang (W) 6-2, 6-4
3. Shen (W) def. Elfman (B) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(8)
4. Peng (W) def. Hernandez (B) 6-1, 7-6(3)
5. Joanna Atwater (B) def. Dana Feng (W) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
6. Lee (W) def. Washington (B) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
