The Lake Forest College women's tennis team posted a 5-1 victory over Carroll University in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Championship Tournament Friday morning. The Foresters will face either Grinnell College or St. Norbert College in the championship match at 1:30 p.m.
The Foresters began the contest by winning two of the three doubles matches. Freshman Marisa Guggenheim and senior Aimee Fadden finished their 8-4 triumph at #3 first and were followed by an 8-5 victory at #1 by sophomores Sarah Paulson and Christi Valicenti. Sophomore Grace Dowling and freshman Lexi Chionis were edged out 9-8 (7-5) at #2.
Chionis extended the Lake Forest lead when she finished off the Pioneers' #4 singles player 6-1, 6-0 and Valicenti added her second win of the match, a 6-1, 6-1 victory at #2. The contest ended when Guggenheim completed a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at #5. Paulson, Dowling, and Fadden had each won the first set at #1, #3, and #6, respectively, and were in the second set when Guggenheim clinched the Lake Forest victory.
The Foresters are now 12-0 this season while the Pioneers fell to 10-6.
Lake Forest will take on defending champion Grinnell College in the MWC Championship Match this afternoon. The winner will claim both the conference title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the spring. It will be a rematch of last year's championship, which Grinnell won 5-3. The most recent meeting was a 5-4 Forester triumph at Grinnell last Saturday.