Senior Christi Valicenti won 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at #1 singles to give the Forester women's tennis team a 5-4 victory over Carroll University in the semifinals of the 2016 Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday. Lake Forest was then defeated 5-0 by Grinnell College in the tournament final.
Carroll jumped out the early lead in the match with a victory at #3 doubles. Valicenti and fellow senior Grace Dowling then finished off an 8-3 triumph at #1 to tie the score. It was their 20th victory of the year as a doubles team and the 25th win of their careers as a tandem at #1. Both totals are just one shy of the program record and the 28 wins they amassed as doubles partners at any position rank third in team annals.
Carroll came out on top at #2 doubles and led 2-1 going into singles play, where the Pioneers quickly picked up another point at #5.
Dowling did not lose a game at #2 singles and junior Lucia Stumbras took both sets 6-3 at #4 to tie the contest at three. After dropping a point at #6, Lake Forest tied the match again when freshman Allison Watts completed her 6-4, 7-5 victory at #3.
Valicenti took the first set 6-4 before falling 6-2 to the Pioneers' top player in the second. They were the only players left on the courts for the majority of the third set, which Valicenti won 6-4.
Both teams finished the match at 16-8 on the year.
Grinnell reached the tournament final by defeating St. Norbert College 5-2 in the semifinals. The Pioneers then swept the Foresters in doubles and added victories at #5 and #6 singles to win the tournament and claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
At 16-9, Lake Forest finished the year with the second-highest victory total in team history, trailing only the 2013-14 team by a single win. Grinnell improved to 15-8 heading into next week's NCAA Tourney opener.
Valicenti and Dowling will be the 2015-16 Foresters' only losses to graduation. They rank first and second, respectively, in program history in singles, doubles, and overall victories and combine to own or share nine other team records.
