Women's Tennis (10-2, 5-1) Posts 3-0 Mark, Remains Tied for First in NEWMAC

The Wheaton College women's tennis team, which is ranked 12th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Northeast poll, went 3-0 last week, including 2-0 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) to remain tied for first in the league standings. The Lyons knocked off regionally-ranked Babson College, 6-3 on Tuesday before blanking Clark University on Saturday. On Sunday, Wheaton picked up a 6-3 victory at regionally-ranked Colby College. The Lyons have at least 10 wins in consecutive fall seasons for the first time since 1990 and 1991.

With one NEWMAC match remaining, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m., Wheaton could clinch at least a share of its first regular season title in program history. Juniors Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) are the 11th-ranked doubles team in the region, while Teague is 15th in singles and Geocaris is 22nd. Geocaris enters the week with 93 career wins between singles and doubles.

Against visiting Babson, which is ranked 15th in the Northeast, Wheaton took a 2-1 lead after doubles play before capturing four singles victories. Teague and sophomores Rosalyn Chesky (South Hadley, MA/Wilbraham & Monson Academy) and Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, RI/Lincoln School) each won their singles matches in straight sets, while senior captain Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) battled through three sets for a victory. In doubles, the tandems of Geocaris/Teague and Chesky/junior Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) both won.

Wheaton won its 23rd consecutive match versus visiting Clark, improving to 29-1 in the all-time series, as the Lyons dropped a total of six games between singles and doubles. Chesky, DiOrio, Knies and Teague each blanked their singles opponents, while Geocaris and Van Faasen also won in straight sets. The doubles tandems of Geocaris/Teague, DiOrio/Knies and Chesky/Van Faasen all picked up victories.

At Colby, which is ranked 20th in the region, the Lyons used a doubles comeback to take control going into singles. Geocaris and Teague trailed by a 4-1 count in the top position before rallying for an 8-5 win, joining Chesky and Van Faasen as victorious doubles teams. Teague blanked her singles opponent, while Geocaris, Knies and Van Faasen also recorded straight-set triumphs.