Lee Wins Twice as Blue Tennis Hangs Tough with #1 Williams

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Despite two wins from junior Sojung Lee, the number-one ranked and six-time defending NCAA Champion Williams College tennis team proved to be too much for Wellesley, as the Ephs topped the Blue 7-2 indoors on Sunday. The win lifts Williams to 2-0 on the season, while Wellesley dips to 4-2.

Williams led 2-1 after doubles, picking up wins at two and three, while Wellesley came away with a thrilling victory at one. The Ephs then won five of six singles matches to seal the 7-2 victory.

At two doubles, the Ephs' Hannah Atkinson and Riqui McCoy paired up for an 8-1 win over Andjela Stojkovic and Lina Ye, giving Wiliams a 1-0 advantage. The visitors stretched it to 2-0 after the three doubles match finished with Linda Shin and Alex Stone grabbing an 8-4 victory over Wellesley's Kendall Tada and Samantha Stone. 

The last doubles match on the court was in the first flight where Wellesley's Lee and Carina Chen battled the fifth-ranked pair in the nation, Kara Shoemaker and Rebecca Curran. Wellesley nabbed an early lead in the match, holding advantages of 4-1, and then 6-3. Williams battled back, breaking Wellesley's serve on a marathon point that ended with a squibber that carried over the net and fell in, making the set score 6-5, still in favor of the Blue.

Williams' Shoemaker and Curran then took a 7-6 lead, breaking another Wellesley serve, and then winning their own to grab the momentum. Each pair won their serve on the next set of games, making it 8-7 Williams, before Wellesley won their final serve to make it 8-8, forcing a tiebreaker.

In the tiebreak, Wellesley's Lee and Chen jumped out to an early 2-1 lead, and then recorded five straight points to win the extra set, 7-1. Final match score was 9-8 (7-1) in favor of the Blue, but Williams held a 2-1 edge in team scoring heading into singles.

In singles, Williams clinched the match with early wins at five, four, and three. At five, McCoy defeated Tada, 6-1, 6-0, while at four, Hannah Atkinson topped Ye, 6-2, 6-1. The Ephs got the match clincher at three, where Shin battled to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Wellesley's Stojkovic.

Wellesley's Chen played a tight second set in her second flight match, nearly forcing a third. However, Williams' Maria Pylypiv won the final three games to seal the 6-1, 7-5 victory. The Ephs got their seventh and final team point in the sixth spot, as Alex Stone was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Wellesley's Samantha Stone. 

The final match on the court went to Wellesley in a super tiebreaker at one singles. The Blue's Lee dropped the first set to nationally-ranked Curran, 3-6, but rebounded for a 6-4 win in the second to force a tiebreak third set. In the bonus session, Lee jumped out to an 8-4 lead, before taking the breaker, 10-6. 

Wrapping up the match highlights for Wellesley, Dasha Kostikina won her exhibition match over Williams' Annika Trapness.

Both Wellesley and Williams are next in action at the 2013 ITA Regional Championships. The individual event features brackets in both singles and doubles and will be hosted at Williams.