March 4, 2012

Box Score

GREENCASTLE, IN - The 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's tennis team fell to fourth-ranked Chicago but rebounded to beat sixth-ranked Denison to finish in seventh place at the 2012 ITA Division III Team Indoor Championship. It is the Blue Jays' second appearance at the indoor championship, where they finished in eighth in 2010.

In the consolation semifinals, Chicago took a 2-1 lead in the match after doubles with wins at first and second. Carmen VacaGuzman and Jennifer Kung beat junior Nandita Krishnan and sophomore Hailey Hogan, 8-5, at first to take the early lead. Freshman Elaine Baik and senior Courtney Boger tied the match with an 8-6 win over Maggie Schumann and Linden Li at third. But Kelsey McGilllis and Megan Tang pushed Chicago's lead back to 2-1 after beating sophomore Abby Clark and freshman Shannon Herndon, 8-5, at second.

VacaGuzman then gave the Maroons a 3-1 lead with a three-set win over Hogan at second, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Kung then pushed the match to a 4-1 score with another three-set win, beating Baik 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 at first. Herndon cut the deficit to two as she won yet another three-set match, beating Li, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 at third. McGillis clinched the match for Chicago, however, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Clark at fourth. Tang followed with a three-set win over freshman Stephanie Rettig, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. While freshman Kaitlin Pfisterer closed out the match with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Schumann at sixth to account for the 6-3 final score.

Hopkins rebounded in the evening to beat sixth-ranked Denison, 5-1, to earn the seventh-place finish. Denison is the highest ranked opponent Hopkins has ever beaten, topping the Blue Jays' 7-2 win over eighth-ranked Carnegie Mellon on April 3, 2011. Baik and freshman Macie Wilkins opened the match with an 8-2 win over Courtney Steiner and Lilianna Broussalian at third doubles. Sarah Short and Alex Marcell then beat Krishnan and Hogan, 8-6, at first to tie the match at 1-1. Clark and Herndon closed out doubles with an 8-3 win over Heather Abzug and Kate Westenberger at second to send Hopkins into singles with a 2-1 lead.

The Blue Jays clinched the match with wins at first through third singles and the match was called. Herndon finished first, beating Westenberger, 6-3, 6-1 at third singles. Baik then won at first, beating Short, 6-3, 7-5, to make it a 4-1 match. Hogan clinched the win for Hopkins with a 7-6, 7-5 win at second over Marcell.

Hopkins returns to the court on Saturday, March 17 as the Blue Jays open their Centennial Conference title defense at Haverford. The match is slated for a noon start in Haverford, PA.