Blue Tennis Outlasts TCNJ for 5-4 Victory

EWING, N.J. – First year Selina Peng (Taichung, Taiwan) rallied to take the final two sets at No. 5 singles and clinch a 5-4 non-conference victory for Wellesley College tennis over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Sunday afternoon at the TCNJ Tennis Complex.

No. 31 Wellesley earned a hard fought victory in a battle of ranked opponents that helped the Blue improve to 3-0 by downing the No. 30 ranked Lions (1-1).

Peng dropped her opening set to sophomore Emily Szkudlarski (Belle Mead, N.J.), 4-6, before taking a 6-4 win of her own in the second set. Peng then clinched the match at No. 5 singles, and the match for the Blue, with a 6-1 win in the third set.

Wellesley entered singles play with a 2-1 lead thanks to victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Senior Carina Chen (Hong Kong) and sophomore Justine Huang (Coto de Caza, Calif.) defeated sophomore Grace Minassian (Closter, N.J.) and junior Maddy Stoner (Ewing, N.J.), 8-4, in the top doubles match, while senior Andjela Stojkovic (Victoria, British Columbia) and first year Sarah Yan (Holmdel, N.J.) held on to defeat sophomores Sneha Rangu (East Windsor, N.J.) and Alyssa Baldi (Mahwah, N.J.), 8-6, at No. 2.

TCNJ took the No. 3 doubles match, 8-3, when senior Anna Prestera (Barnegat, N.J.) and junior Danna Tsay (East Brunswick, N.J.) defeated Blue sophomore Rosanne Hu (Sugar Land, Texas) and Peng. However, the Lions quickly found themselves down 4-1 in the match, as Wellesley earned victories at No. 3 and No. 2 singles. Huang continued her hot start to the year, downing Stoner, 6-1, 6-2, while Yan defeated junior Brittany Reedman (Williamstown, N.J.), 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3.

With Wellesley one win away from taking the match, the Lions battled back. TCNJ took victories at No. 4 and No. 1 before grabbing the No. 6 singles match to tie the overall score at 4-4. Baldi defeated Stojkovic, 7-5, 6-0 at No. 4, before Rangu defeated Chen, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 1 and Prestera took a three set match from Blue first year Korina Hernandez (Tampa, Fla.), 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, at No. 6. However, Peng followed by clinching the match for the Blue with her 6-1 third set victory.

Wellesley tennis returns to New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play next Saturday, September 10, at MIT. TCNJ will host Stockton University on Wednesday, September 7, at 4:00 PM.