The Lake Forest College women's tennis team settled for a runner-up finish at Friday's Midwest Conference Team Championship Tournament. A victory by junior Nonie Carson at #2 singles completed a 5-1 Forester victory over Lawrence University in the semifinals. Carson then teamed with sophomore Melika Celebic for a #1 doubles win in a 5-2 loss to Grinnell College in the championship match.
After dropping all three doubles matches at Lawrence earlier in the season, the Foresters won two of three on Friday. Freshman Nicole Stroner and senior Natalie Atroshenko posted a 7-5, 6-4 victory at #3 and freshman Aimee Fadden and senior Deepika Ramachandran came from behind to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 at #2.
Stroner was the first to finish in singles and her 6-3, 6-0 triumph at #6 gave the Foresters a 3-1 lead and Ramachandran's 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win at #4 brought Lake Forest to within a point of the victory. Carson then finished off the Vikings with a 7-5, 6-3 win at #2. The other three singles matches were in the third set when the match ended.
"This was by far our best win of the season," commented Forester head coach Jason Box. "We knew it would be a good match going in and we came out with a ton of energy and enthusiasm in doubles. The great victory at #3 doubles and the come-from-behind win at #2 set the tone for the whole match. In singles it was a complete team effort and all six of them played with the grit and passion we have shown all year."
Grinnell also defeated St. Norbert College, the 2009 champion, 5-1 in the other semifinal, although the match was finished long before the end of the Lawrence-Lake Forest contest.
After falling 6-1 in the first set, Celebic and Carson defeated Grinnell's #1 doubles team 6-4 in the next two to earn the Foresters' only doubles point of the match.
Celebic was also victorious at the top spot in the singles lineup, prevailing 7-6, 6-1. Pioneer victories at #3, #4, and #5 singles gave them their sixth league title in the last seven years.
"First off I want to congratulate Grinnell on a great season," began Coach Box. "For our players to go back out on the court an hour after finishing an emotionally and physically draining semifinal match and still play with the determination they did was one of the most impressive efforts I have ever been a part of in my career. There were several opportunities for them to quit and they never did. I cannot be more proud of the way they represented Lake Forest College today."
Lake Forest finished the dual match portion of its season with a record of 12-4, matching the second-highest win total in program history. It was the Foresters' third runner-up finish at the event since the league adopted the four-team tournament format in 1999. The team has also claimed two titles and placed third four times during that span.
Players from all 10 teams in the league will compete in Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend in Saturday's doubles tournaments and Sunday's singles competition.
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