No. 10 women’s tennis dominates No. 9 Trinity and No. 29 Southwestern

| Contributing Writer

First year Eleanor Archer won both of her matches as the Bears second singles player. (Isabella Diaz-Mira | Student Life)

The No. 10 Washington University women’s tennis team came out on top over two Top-30-ranked teams on March 29 and 30. The Bears defeated No. 9 Trinity University (Texas) 6-3 and swept No. 29 Southwestern University 9-0 to improve their season record to 10-2. 

Friday’s win against Trinity was particularly momentous for the Bears, as it was their first time beating a Top 10 team since 2019, when they beat the then-No. 9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The win also snapped a three-game losing streak against Trinity, who the Bears hadn’t beaten since 2018.

Going into Friday’s Top 10 matchup, sophomore Eliana Hanna was aware of the stakes.

“I felt pretty nervous going into our match with Trinity because it was a big match for us, knowing that they are also a Top 10 team,” she wrote to Student Life. 

Despite the nerves, Hanna, who competes in number three singles and number one doubles with fellow sophomore Amber Edmonds, was victorious in both of her matches against Trinity. Hanna was named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week for her performance.

After the matches, she expressed immense pride for how her teammates competed, particularly when first-year Eleanor Archer, number two singles, won her match 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 to clinch the Bears’ win.

“We were all eagerly waiting to support and celebrate as a team,” Hanna wrote. 

First-year Emily Chiasson also commented on the energy of the team.

“During the match, it was pretty close, but as a team, we brought a lot of energy and positivity to support each other throughout the match. After we won, we were all super happy and excited because we beat Trinity on their home courts and we all played well.” 

On Saturday, the Bears kept up the momentum, dominating Southwestern 9-0. 

Many of the matches against Southwestern included blowout results. Both Archer and Chiasson had at least one set where they won 6-0. 

“I felt good about my match against Southwestern, and as a team, we were happy with how we competed,” Chiasson wrote. 

After losing to No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on March 11, the Bears have now rattled off five straight wins, all of which have come away from home against teams ranked in the Top 32 of the nation. The Bears shot up from No. 17 to No. 10 in the national rankings released March 27, and are likely to keep rising after two more impressive wins.

This upcoming weekend, the Bears will put their win streak on the line when they travel to Wisconsin to play at the Madison Invitational on April 6.

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