Comeback Bid Falls Just Short For Blue Tennis In 5-4 Setback to No. 32 Bates

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- A furious comeback bid fell just short for Wellesley College tennis in a 5-4 setback to No. 32 Bates College in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

Wellesley (1-3 overall) earned the first victory of the match in doubles to jump ahead, but Bates (4-2 overall) took the next four matches to grab a 4-1 lead in the team score. In doubles, Wellesley's top team of Selina Peng (Taichung, Taiwan) and Libby Chang (San Marino, Calif) defeat Suzanne Elfman (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Anna Rozin (Toronto, Ontario), 8-3. Bates victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles followed to send the Bobcats into singles play with a 2-1 lead. 

Bates No. 1 Hannah Sweeney (Franklin, Mass.) earned a victory over Wellesley sophomore Michaela Markwart (Hanover, Mass.), 6-1, 6-0, and Rozin topped Chang, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2 to make the score 4-1. Wellesley followed with victories at No. 3 and No. 4 to cut the deficit to one. After dropping her opening set, 6-4 to Elfman at No. 3, Blue sophomore Michelle Shen (Dallas, Texas) fell in a 5-2 hole in the second set before rallying for a 7-5 win to split. In the third set, Shen earned a 10-8 win in a third set tiebreaker to keep the Blue in the match with a 7-6 set victory.

Wellesley moved within a point when Peng completed a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory at No. 4 to cut the deficit to 4-3. At No. 5, first year Dana Feng split sets with Joanna Atwater (Short Hills, N.J.), 6-1, 2-6, to force a third set. However, Atwater rallied for a 6-4 win in the deciding set to end the Blue comeback bid and give Bates a 5-3 lead and the win. Blue sophomore Cinji Lee (Seoul, South Korea) closed out the match with a 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 win for the Blue to make the final score 5-4 Bates.

The Blue will welcome No. 20 Brandeis to Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 PM. Bates will travel to Middlebury next Saturday, March 14, at 8:30 AM.