The 10th-ranked Middlebury women's tennis team came from behind to secure a critical second point in doubles en route to a 5-2 victory over #11 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in an NCAA Regional Final. With the win, the Panthers advance to the final site of competition and will take on #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a quarterfinal match on May 20.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The second tandem of Gena Huang and Claudia Miller breezed past their opponents 8-0 to give Middlebury an early 1-0 edge.
• The Engineer duo of Saina Deshpande and Jay Lu raced out to a commanding 4-1 lead at #3, but Nathalie van der Reis and Lulu Wu were patient. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit, tying the match at six wins apiece, before claiming the final pair of games for the 8-5 triumph.
• MIT would not be denied a point in doubles action. Alaina Kolli and Artemis Pados got out to a 4-1 advantage. The Middlebury pair of Amy Delman and Sahana Raman leveled the match at 7-7 to force a tiebreaker. The breaker was tied three times before the Engineers claimed back-to-back points for the 7-5 win, cutting the deficit to one (2-1).
• Van der Reis carried her momentum into singles play, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the sixth slot to put the Panthers ahead by two (3-1).
• MIT's Katya Sheperd Johnson sliced the lead back down to one (3-2) with a straight set win (6-2,6-3) at the top of the lineup.
• At #2, Wu shut out her opponent in the opening set, before putting the match within reach (4-2) with a 6-3 second-set triumph.
• Huang clinched the victory for Middlebury in the fourth spot. The Panther battled to claim a 7-2 tiebreaker in the first set, before easing to a 6-1 decision in the second to secure the 5-2 triumph for Middlebury.
• When the match was clinched, #3 Miller and #5 Delman claimed their openers 6-3, but were both down 5-3 in their second sets. 

NOTES

• With the victory, the Panthers eclipse 15 wins in a season for the ninth time.
• Middlebury advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 11th time in program history, and eighth straight.
• Van der Reis claimed her 30th career singles match and has won five-consecutive, while Wu is riding a seven-match unbeaten streak. The duo improved to 6-0 in doubles bouts.
• Huang and Miller claimed their 15th doubles contest this year. 

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) serves as the host for the final site of competition which includes the NCAA Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final rounds. Competition begins on Monday, May 20 at a time to be determined.