The Middlebury women's tennis team was tied with Bowdoin at 2-2, but the Polar Bears advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals after they won three-consecutive singles matches and pulled away from the Panthers in a 5-2 victory Sunday afternoon at Pickard Courts. The seventh-ranked Polar Bears (16-6) advance to their third-ever NCAA Quarterfinal appearance and first since 2012, while the 10th-ranked Panthers finish their season at 11-8.

Bowdoin took a 2-0 lead in doubles action as the #3 pairing of Pilar Giffenig and Tiffany Cheng cruised to an 8-3 win. The #1 Polar Bear duo of Julia Likhanskaia and Emma Lewis captured a 8-2 win over Kaysee Orozco and Ria Gerger. In the crucial #2 doubles match, Middlebury was able to keep its hopes alive, as Alexandra Fields and Lily Bondy survived Samantha Stalder and Kate Winingham in an 8-6 triumph to make it 2-1 Polar Bears headed to individual action.

In singles play, the squads settled in for a lengthy battle. Nearly 90 minutes into singles action, Middlebury recorded the first point when Margot Marchese posted a 6-3, 6-4 win at #5 to even the team score at 2-2.

Bowdoin replied with two victories within a span of a minute as Tiffany Cheng finished off Fields at #2 via 6-3, 6-1 scores, while Kate Winingham dispatched Orozco 6-4, 6-4, to put the Polar Bears within a match of advancing.

The competition came down to courts one and four, respectively, as each entered their third sets of play. Stalder rallied from a 3-2 deficit at #4 to take a 4-3 lead and held off Bondy for the eventual 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory and put the Polar Bears over the top.

Middlebury and Bowdoin were tied at a set apiece at #1 singles, while Bowdoin trailed by a set, but was up 4-3 in the second at #6 when the final decision was reached.