NORTON, MA- Fresh off a share of its first regular season conference title, the Wheaton College women's tennis team enters the weekend as the top seed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where the Lyons aim for their initial tournament crown.

The Blue and White, which matched Wellesley College with a 6-1 league mark but earned the higher seeding due to a 7-2 victory over the nationally-ranked Blue on September 29, drew a first-round bye and will oppose the winner of Saturday's Mount Holyoke College and Smith College match during a Sunday semifinal at 9:30 a.m. A victory would propel the Lyons into their second tournament championship contest, and their first since 1991, with an automatic bid into the program's first NCAA Tournament on the line. The title match is set for 1:00 p.m.

For the 10th time in the 15 years of the league implementing a team format in the tournament, the Lyons have qualified for the semifinals. They are 3-2 in the postseason against Mount Holyoke and 4-3 against Smith, having faced the Pioneers in last year's first round, a 5-0 Wheaton victory in a match played at Mount Holyoke.

In her 30th season, head coach Lynn Miller has led Wheaton to an 11-2 overall mark and a ranking of 12th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast poll, as the Lyons' victory over Wellesley snapped the Blue's 47-match NEWMAC winning streak.

Wheaton's first-doubles tandem is comprised of juniors Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central), the region's 11th-ranked duo, who have gone 14-3 this fall while holding down the top two singles positions. Geocaris is 11-6 and Teague is 12-4, as each are among the top 22 in the regional rankings.

Senior captain Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) and sophomore Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, RI/Lincoln School) are 7-3 during dual matches from second doubles, while junior Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) and sophomore Rosalyn Chesky (South Hadley, MA/Wilbraham & Monson Academy) have posted a 12-1 mark, going a perfect 5-0 during NEWMAC play at third doubles.

Van Faasen is 11-6 in singles action as Wheaton's primary third-singles player, while DiOrio has gone 12-2, including 6-1 in league action. Knies is 11-3, including 10-0 from the fifth slot, and Chesky leads the team in wins at 14-3 after posting a spotless 7-0 NEWMAC mark.