Junior Allison Watts and freshman Grace Gould captured Midwest Conference championships at #2 and #5 singles, respectively, on Sunday at the MWC Individual Tournaments in Madison, Wisconsin.
Both players were the top seeds in their singles brackets after posting perfect 9-0 records against conference opponents in dual matches this fall.
Watts did not lose a game in the quarterfinals against the #2 player from Monmouth College or the semifinals against her counterpart from Cornell College. The third-seeded player from St. Norbert College put up a much tougher fight in the final but Watts came out on top 6-3, 6-4. It was her first career conference championship in singles second overall. The victory in the final was also the 100th career win for Watts in singles and doubles combined.
Gould was nearly as dominant in her first two matches, blanking her opponent from Monmouth 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and prevailing 6-1, 6-0 against St. Norbert to reach the champinship. Taking on the #5 player from Grinnell College in the final, Gould took the first set 7-5 but dropped the second 6-4. She then won the third set 6-1 to claim the title.
Lake Forest also had a pair of runners-up and two other semifinalists on Saturday. Freshman Julie Lord, the second-seeded player at #1 singles, was edged out 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 by the top seed from Grinnell in the championship match and sophomore Leeza Bodnar, the third-seeded player at #3 singles, was also defeated by the bracket's top seed 6-3, 6-1. Both Foresters had won twice to reach the final. Freshman Tyranny Miller and sophomore Samantha Russell were victorious in their first matches of the day but fell in the semifinals.
The titles for Watts and Gould gave the Foresters three this year, matching the team's output in two of the last three seasons.
The MWC Individual Tournaments represent the end of the fall season. Lake Forest will resume the 2017-18 campaign with a pair of dual matches at Principia College on March 3.
