The fifth-ranked Middlebury women's tennis team squeaked past No. 6 Wesleyan (8-2, 3-1) by a 5-4 score in NESCAC action on Saturday. The matchup was contested in the Nelson Recreation Center. The Panthers (7-1, 2-0) return to action tomorrow when they host No. 1 Emory at 8:30 a.m., followed by a league match against Connecticut College starting at 1:00 p.m.

The hosts grabbed two of the three points during doubles play. The Panther duo of Katherine Hughes and Skylar Schossberger posted an 8-2 victory at No. 2 over Venia Yeung and Polina Kiseleva, while the top tandem of Heather Boehm and Ann Martin Skelly matched that score in a win against Victoria Yu and Kristina Yu. The Cardinals grabbed their point at No. 3 by a narrow 8-6 tally, sending the match to singles with Middlebury up 2-1.

In singles action, the Panthers pushed their lead to 3-1 when Boehm claimed a 6-2, 6-0 triumph at No. 1 against Victoria Yu. The Cardinals leveled the match at 3-3 via wins at No. 4 and No. 2, respectively.

Middlebury regained the narrow lead at 4-3 when Christina Puccinelli posted a 7-6 (5), 6-3 triumph against Kristina Yu in the third flight, before Maddi Stow clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alissa Nakamoto at No. 5.

Wesleyan completed the scoring with a three-set win at the bottom of the lineup for the final 5-4 score.