The Forester women's tennis team is competing at the Midwest Conference Championship Tournaments in Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend. Highlighting their doubles play on Saturday was a conference title at #2 for freshman Grace Dowling and sophomore Gracie Mullins.
The Graces cruised to victory in the quarterfinals, defeating Illinois College 6-1, 6-0. They followed that up with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Carroll University in the semifinals, setting up a rematch with Grinnell College's #2 tandem, who they defeated the day before in the championship match of the team tournament. Dowling and Mullins prevailed again, taking the first set 6-4 and the second 6-3 to claim the first career conference titles for both players.
Lake Forest was also represented in the final at #1 doubles, where senior Melika Celebic and freshman Christi Valicenti took the top team from Grinnell to a third set before falling 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Celebic and Valicenti had defeated the #1 team from Beloit College 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and the best from Carroll 6-0, 6-4 in the semifinals to reach the championship match.
Forester junior Aimee Fadden and sophomore Lucy Cooper were defeated in the quarterfinals by the eventual champions from Grinnell but won 8-3 against Ripon College and 8-1 versus Beloit to take the consolation final.
Competition at each of the six spots in the singles lineup will take place on Sunday. Lake Forest has already clinched second place in the standings by virtue of their performance in the team tournament on Friday, where they defeated St. Norbert College 5-2 in the semifinals but fell 5-3 to Grinnell in the championship match.