The fifth-ranked Middlebury women's tennis team closed out its regular season with a victory in a matchup of top-10 opponents, recording a 6-3 road win over #7 Amherst (11-6, 5-2) at the Amherst Tennis Courts. With the triumph, the Panthers improve to 12-3 in dual matches and 7-1 in the NESCAC. Middlebury returns to the court next weekend at the NESCAC Championships hosted by Bates.
The Purple & White jumped out to a 1-0 lead in doubles when Rebecca Pol and Avery Wagman posted an 8-2 victory at #3 over Alexandra Fields and Christina Puccinelli. The Amherst tandem of Vickie Ip and Kelsey Chen doubled the hosts' lead with a similar 8-2 decision at #2 over Sadie Shackelford and Kaysee Orozco. At #1, the Panther duo of Ria Gerger and Lily Bondy needed extra play, but got the visitors on the board with a 9-7 triumph over Sarah Monteagudo and Sue Ghosh.
Middlebury took control of the match during singles play. Puccinelli tied the score at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against Monteagudo in the fourth flight, while Chen gave Amherst its third point via a 6-4, 6-1 win over Molly Paradies in the fifth spot. Shackelford again knotted the match for the Panthers with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 victory in the sixth spot over Wagman.
The Panthers swept the top-three spots, each needing three sets to record a victory. Gerger fought back from a set down for a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-1 victory in the #1 spot over Ghosh, while Bondy clinched the match for Middlebury with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win at #3 against Jackie Calla. Fields closed the scoring with a victory over Ip at #2 (6-4, 4-6, 6-4).