The Lake Forest College women's tennis team hosted and defeated Illinois College and Monmouth College by the same 9-0 score on Saturday. Forester junior Christi Valicenti went 3-0 on the day and is now tied for fourth place in program history with 88 career victories.
Valicenti matched the four-year win total posted by Alli Berry in 2007 and is now just 10 victories shy of the team record set by Melika Celebic in the spring of 2013. She started her day with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at #1 singles against Illinois College at the College Park Athletic Club in Bannockburn, Illinois, in the morning. She also won 8-4 with sophomore Lexi Chionis at #1 doubles and 6-4, 6-0 at the top spot in the singles lineup against Monmouth. The afternoon match was played at the Racquet Club of Lake Bluff.
Illinois College had just five players so the Foresters won by forfeit at #3 doubles and #6 singles. Lake Forest junior Grace Dowling and senior Gracie Mullins won 8-2 at #1 doubles while sophomore Elinor Chalmers and freshman Samantha Ryczek prevailed at #3 by the same score in their season debut.
Senior Leslie Walton clinched the Lake Forest victory when she finished off a 6-0, 6-0 victory at #5 singles. Sophomore Brittany Khayet won 6-2, 6-0 at #3 and Valicenti followed with her win at #1. Sophomore Zoe Maurer did not lose a game at #4 and Chionis dropped just one in her 6-1, 6-0 triumph at #2 to finish off the match.
Maurer and junior Emily Rabin were the first to finish in doubles against Monmouth and their 8-0 victory gave the home team the early lead. Dowling and Mullins followed with an 8-2 win at #2 and Valicenti and Chionis took care of the Fighting Scots' top tandem to make it a doubles sweep. With 31 wins over the last two-and-a-half years, Dowling and Mullins are now just one shy of the program record for a doubles team set by Shannon Sobieski and Jamie Irons in 2000.
Rabin and Chionis were the first to finish in singles and their 6-0, 6-0 victories at #5 and #3, respectively, gave the Foresters five points to clinch the match. Ryczek and Mullins each won her first set 6-2 and the second 6-0 at #6 at #6 and #4, respectively, and Chionis did not lose a game at #2. Valicenti's triumph at #1 completed Lake Forest's second win of the day.
The Foresters are now 9-2 overall this season and 6-1 in Midwest Conference play. Illinois College fell to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the league while Monmouth dropped to 3-9 overall and 2-4 in the MWC.
Lake Forest will continue conference play on Sunday against visiting Knox College. The contest will begin at 10:00 a.m.
