WHITEWATER, Wis. – Three straight wins in singles play propelled the Kenyon College women's tennis team to a 5-1 victory over the University of Saint Thomas in the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship tournament on Sunday, May 16, in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
The win improved the No. 12-ranked Ladies' record to 10-0 and pushed them into the tournament's quarterfinal round, where they will take on the No. 15-ranked University of Mary Washington. That quarterfinal match will take place Monday morning, May 24, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Kenyon's trip to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship tournament will be its first since the 2000 season.
After doubles play on Sunday, Kenyon had a slim 2-1 lead against Saint Thomas, so the match was clearly in doubt. The Ladies, however, stepped up in singles play and quickly removed any uncertainty.
Senior Kayla Pukys got the ball rolling with a tidy 6-3, 6-0 win against Monterey Knewtson in the No. 4 match. Fellow senior Erika Oku dominated the No. 1 match, giving Kenyon a 4-1 lead after she took care of Nicole Snezhko by a 6-0, 6-2 score.
With one more point needed to clinch the match and stay alive in the tournament, another senior, Ilana Blackwood, came through for Kenyon. She registered a 6-2, 6-1 win over Clare Palen in the No. 5 singles match.
Prior to the seniors sweeping through those three singles battles, Kenyon got its first two points in doubles play. Saint Thomas won the No. 3 doubles match first, but the Ladies charged back to take the next two.
At No. 1, Oku and Daria Beshentseva held off Snezhko and Jannah El Nemr 8-4. Then at No. 2, Blackwood and Victoria Vasquez rallied to defeat Olivia Paradise and Brooke Hapuku 8-7.
The Ladies made short work of the Grinnell College Pioneers in the second round of the tournament on Saturday, May 15. They swept the three doubles matches and then posted two quick singles wins to register a 5-0 victory that launched them into the tournament's third round.
Kenyon and Grinnell (7-1) were set to play at Wangerin Courts on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, but rain forced the teams to move to the indoor courts at Lake Geneva Tennis.
When play got underway, Blackwood and Vasquez notched the Ladies' first point by defeating Mira Manchanda and Irene Agusti Mazza 8-2 in the No. 2 doubles match.
Not long after that, Kenyon's No. 1 and No. 3 pairings completed the doubles sweep. The No. 3 duo of Pukys and first-year player Eleni Dakos turned in an 8-1 win over Ali Hickey and Sophia De Los Reyes. At No. 1, Oku and Beshentseva took down Grinnell's top tandem of Ioanna Giannakou and Sabrina Tang by a score of 8-3.
Needing just two singles wins to seal the deal, Oku and Vasquez both posted 6-0, 6-0 results to advance the Ladies. Oku cruised through the No. 1 match, defeating Giannakou; while Vasquez rolled at No. 3, finishing off Agusti Mazza.
