MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 18 Skidmore College women's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final for the second time in four seasons, after defeating Nichols 5-0 in the second round Friday morning, hosted by Middlebury College at the Proctor Tennis Courts.
Skidmore (17-5) will take on host No. 4 Middlebury winner in the regional final, for a chance to advance to the national quarterfinal, held on May 21 at the Biszantz Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif. The 17 wins are the most for the Thoroughbreds since the 2013-14 season. Nichols finishes its season at 20-3.
In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, the Thoroughbreds, ranked 18
th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national poll of the regular season, got off to a quick start with another dominating performance in doubles.
Risa Fukushige and
Michelle Fuca won its ninth match in a row at No. 1 with an 8-0 shutout win against Amarie Settiwongse and Isabelle Leonardi. At No. 2, the pair of
Renee Karchere-Sun and
Ada Wiggins defeated Ashley Dallaire and Megan Nathanson 8-1, improving to 8-3 as a pair in dual action.
Jessica Ampel and
Alexa Goldberg completed the sweep with an 8-2 victory over Alanna Judd and Lindsey Kaplan, its sixth win in the last seven doubles matches.
In singles, Wiggins blanked her opponent at No. 2 for the second straight match, defeating Judd 6-0, 6-0.
Laura Swenson clinched the match for the Thoroughbreds at No. 5, defeating Juliana Herrera 6-1, 6-0. Karchere-Sun and Ampel were leading in their respective matches at No. 3 and 6 when the match ended.
Skidmore's match against Middlebury will begin at 10 a.m. at the Proctor Tennis Courts.
