2007 NEWMAC WOMEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT - Wheaton downs Smith, 5-1 in first round before semifinal loss to top-seeded Wellesley

October 27, 2007

WELLESLEY, MA- The fifth-seeded Wheaton College women's tennis team turned back number four Smith College, 5-1 in the first round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament at Wellesley College on Saturday before falling in the semifinals at host Wellesley, 5-0. The 8-5 Lyons concluded their fall slate and next compete during March in South Carolina.

Wheaton avenged a 5-4 loss at the hands of Smith on October 6 with a victory thanks to featuring its normal lineup for the first time since September 18. Freshmen Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, CA/Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, NH/Central) combined for an 8-4 win at first doubles, while classmates Chelsea Cordes (Jamestown, RI/North Kingstown) and Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex Regional) won at number three, 8-2. The Lyons took a 2-1 edge into singles action.

The only three singles matches played to completion ended with Wheaton players on top in straight sets. Geocaris notched a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at number two, sophomore Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) corralled a 6-2, 6-0 win in the third position, and senior captain Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School) finished off her fifth-spot foe, 6-4, 6-0.

In Wheaton's first semifinal match since 2004, the Lyons took on three-time defending league champion Wellesley, which is ranked 16th nationally and sixth in the Northeast by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Geocaris and Teague had Wheaton's strongest doubles showing, falling by an 8-4 score, before a pair of Lyons fell in straight sets during singles play as the Blue clinched the match.

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