Wellesley Tennis Begins Spring Break With 5-4 Win Over George Fox

NEWBERG, Ore. – Wellesley College tennis started its three-match spring break trip with a 5-4 comeback win at George Fox University on Monday. The Blue (3-1 Overall) buckled down and came back to win four out of six singles matches to capture the victory. The Bruins (7-2 Overall) initially held a 2-1 lead after the doubles matches. 

Junior Kalli Wiker (Sequim, Wash.) and first year Riley Bobkiewicz (Star, Idaho) gave George Fox its first point with an 8-5 win over seniors Annissa Mu (Saratoga, Calif.) and Melinda Alviar (Indianapolis, Ind.) at No. 1 doubles.

Wellesley responded with an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles. First years Lily Cade (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Kriti Sarav (Chicago, Ill.) picked up a point for the Blue against juniors Cassey Hitch (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Arianna Rader (Lynden, Wash.).

George Fox made it 2-1 with a close 8-7(5) tiebreaker victory at No. 2 doubles. Senior Kylie Hull (Mililani, Hawaii) and first year Shanah Denham (Happy Valley, Ore.) narrowly outlasted Wellesley sophomore Emilee Pak (Chicago, Ill.) and first year Suzanne Xu (Boyds, Md.).

Mu, Alviar and Sarav put Wellesley up 4-2 with straight set victories at No. 1, 3 and 5 singles. Mu won 6-0, 6-3 over No. 14 regionally ranked Wiker. Alviar defeated Hull 6-4, 6-1. Sarav picked up a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Denham. 

Sophomore Elizabeth Cook (Lake Oswego, Ore.) kept George Fox's hopes alive with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Pak at No. 4 singles. Classmate Sophie Denham (Happy Valley, Ore.) tied the match at 4-4 with a three-set 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Cade at No. 6 singles.

Xu's match with Bobkiewicz at No. 2 singles proved to be the deciding point. Bobkiewicz took the first set 6-3. Xu struck back with a 6-2 second set. Xu gave the Blue the victory by closing out a 6-4 third set.

Wellesley continues its road trip with a 7:00 PM EST match at Lewis & Clark on Wednesday, March 20.