April 25, 2009
Shorewomen Get Past Red Devils, 5-4
Washington Ties Single-Season Win Record,
Clinches Second Seed in CC Tournament

CARLISLE, PA -- The Washington College women's tennis team won its school record-tying 16th dual match of the season and clinched the second seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament with a 5-4 win over host Dickinson this afternoon in Carlisle, PA. The Shorewomen improved to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in conference play with the win, while the Red Devils fell to 10-8 and 5-5.

Dickinson held a 2-1 lead following doubles play after winning at the bottom two spots. Hanna Thomson and Kat Hood defeated freshman Gabie Batista (Sykesville, MD/Century) and junior Carrie Palmer (Dallas, TX/Greenhill School), 8-5, at No. 2, while Alex Bybel and Carla Cox bested sophomore Mary Kelley (Frederick, MD/Glenelg Country School) and senior Kate Barston (Darien, CT/Darien), 9-8(8), at No. 3. Washington won at No. 1 as freshmen Brittany Marshall (Dagsboro, DE/Worcester Prep, MD) and Jordan Finnegan (Wilmington, DE/Archmere Academy) posted an 8-4 victory over Joelle Nitzberg and Sarah Woodward, 8-4.

The Shorewomen came back to win the match by winning four of the first five doubles matches to finish. Finnegan topped Nitzberg, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, at No. 1, while Marshall beat Woodward, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 2. Palmer breezed past Leigh Oczkowski, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 4, while Kelley defeated Hood, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5. Dickinson won at No. 3, where Thomson downed Barston, 6-2, 6-2, and at No. 6 where Nora Hajnoczky posted a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-1) victory against Batista.

The Shorewomen went 16-2 in 1992. The single-season wins record was first equaled 14 years later by the 2006 team, which finished 16-6.

The Shorewomen will play third-seed Muhlenberg in a Centennial Conference Semifinal match at host and top seed Johns Hopkins on Saturday.

MATCH RESULTS