MIDDLEBURY — The seventh-ranked Middlebury women’s tennis team on Saturday prevailed in a matchup of top-10 NCAA Division III and NESCAC foes, 7-2 over No. 8 Wesleyan. The Panthers (3-0) will return to the court on Friday at Babson.
Middlebury took a 1-0 lead in doubles when Lauren Amos and Alexandra Fields posted an 8-4 victory at No. 3 over Helen Klass-Warch and Dasha Dubinsky. The Cardinal tandem of Eudice Chong and Aashli Budhiraja at No. 1 earned an 8-4 win over Panthers Ria Gerger and Kaysee Orozco. At No. 2, the Panther duo of Lily Bondy and Sadie Shackelford gave the hosts a 2-1 lead with a 9-7 triumph against Victoria Yu and Nicole McCann.
In singles, at No. 1 the defending national singles champion Chong tied the match at 2-2 for the Cardinals with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Gerger. The Panthers answered with victories in the other five singles matches. Christina Puccinelli gave the Panthers the lead at No. 4, 6-3, 7-5 over Budhiraja. Fields took down Yu, No. 9 nationally, in the second spot, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and Bondy clinched the match at No. 3, defeating Klass-Warch, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Molly Paradies cruised in straight sets in the fifth spot over McCann (6-3, 6-2), while Amos defeated Dubinsky at No. 6 (6-4, 6-0).