Women's tennis player Grace Dowling was named Forester Athlete of the Week on Thursday after winning the match that clinched the team's crucial victory over visiting Grinnell College on Saturday.
Dowling, a senior, plays at #3 singles and #1 doubles. Saturday's contest was tied at four, leaving Dowling and her singles counterpart from Grinnell as the only players remaining on the court. After winning the first set 6-4, she took the second 7-5 to give the home team a 5-4 victory and move the Foresters into a tie for first place in the conference standings.
Lake Forest hosted and defeated Cornell College 7-2 on Sunday and Dowling posted an 8-2 victory in doubles and a 6-3, 6-4 win in singles.
The Foresters finished their league schedule tied with Grinnell and St. Norbert atop the Midwest Conference standings with a 9-1 league record. Since each team was 1-1 with a 5-4 victory and a loss by the same score against the other tied schools, Lake Forest won the tiebreaker because of the team's 17 sets won during the head-to-head matches. Grinnell and St. Norbert each had 16.
Dowling finished the dual match portion of the fall with a perfect 10-0 singles record against league opponents and an 8-2 mark in doubles. She will be the top seed at #3 singles in this weekend's MWC Individual Tournament.
Forester Athletes of the Week are selected by the Athletic Department on Thursdays. Dowling also earned the honor once as a sophomore.
