Tennis Ends Fall as NEWMAC Runner-Up

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Despite a hard-fought battle today by the Wellesley tennis team, the Blue ended the fall season with a 5-2 loss to Wheaton in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championship match.  The Lyons picked up their second-straight title at the event held on the campus of Smith College.

Wheaton (12-1) held a 2-1 lead after doubles play, netting an 8-2 win at No. 1 with the duo of Catherine Teague and Sarah Geocaris defeating Jacqueline Shen and Diana Granger, 8-2, while Madison Hartley and Lyndsay Cooke won at No. 2 doubles, topping the Wellesley pair of Erica Choo and Kendall Tada, 8-1.   

The Blue (8-3) earned their point at No. 3 when Raji Nagalla and Nathalie Herman beat Ellen Van Faasen and Allesandra DiOrio, 8-2.

Wheaton added wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles thanks to victories from Van Faasen's 6-1, 6-4 win over Morgan Johnstonbaugh at No. 6, and Cooke's 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Herman at No. 3.  Granger edged out Hartley at No. 5 for the Blue's remaining point, 6-1, 6-4.  

Teague, who earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honors, then clinched the match for Wheaton with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Shen at No. 1 singles, battling back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set.  

Wellesley, who finished as the NEWMAC runner-up for the second season in a row, returns to action in the spring with a full schedule including the 2011 Seven Sisters Championship.