FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - The Haverford College women's tennis team had a standout weekend at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, showcasing strong performances throughout the weekend at University of Mary Washington.
Doubles
The Fords entered two teams in the doubles competition. Rachael Fitzgerald and Abhishree Menon were defeated 8-4 in the Round of 64 by Christopher Newport's Kylie Schaefer and Mia Linam. In consolation play, Fitzgerald and Menon secured a key victory, beating rival Swarthmore's Brianna Viets and Ella Strickler 8-6. The first-year duo of Mallika Reddy and Lucy King also faced a Christopher Newport team, falling 8-3 to Kendal Chang and Lindsey Bergelin. They rebounded in the consolation bracket with a dominant 8-3 win over Salisbury's Lily Muir and Evelyn Whiteside.
Singles
In the championship bracket, Reddy won her first-round singles match in a super tiebreaker against Cleopatra Solomon of Saint Mary's (Md.). Reddy took the first set 6-0, but Solomon responded with a 6-3 win in the second. Reddy ultimately prevailed 10-4 in the super tiebreaker, advancing to the second round where she fell to Johns Hopkins' Ava Li, 6-4, 6-0.
Elsewhere in the championship bracket, Fitzgerald earned a commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hana Kimmey of Marymount, moving on to face Johns Hopkins' Kamila Wong, the fifth-seeded player in the tournament. Wong took the first set 6-0, but Fitzgerald responded with a 7-6 [7-4] tiebreaker win. However, Wong won the super tiebreaker 10-8 to advance to the Round of 16.
Lucy King lost 6-4, 6-1 to Carnegie Mellon's Victoria Gazda in the Round of 64 but advanced deep into the consolation bracket, where she defeated Randolph's Lize Van Veen 8-2 in a pro-set. In the consolation quarters, King notched an 8-3 victory over Sarah Guistwite of Gettysburg but was narrowly edged 8-7 [7-5] by Natalie Kim of Mary Washington in the next round.
In the "Blue-2" bracket, Menon mounted a comeback against Shenandoah's Emily Hatseras. After dropping the first set 7-5, Menon rallied to win the second set 6-4 and dominated the super tiebreaker 10-3. She then cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Catholic's Meaghan Laniewski to advance to the semifinals, where she faced Lindsey Bergelin of Christopher Newport. Bergelin won the match 6-3, 6-2 to reach the bracket final.
With a valuable weekend of experience in the books, Haverford women's tennis team now returns to action on Saturday, September 28, for the annual alumnae match on campus. Play is set to begin at 11 a.m., marking the conclusion of the official fall slate.
