For the very first time in program history, the No. 10 WashU women’s tennis team has booked a spot in the finals of the NCAA Division III Championships after defeating conference rival No. 1 University of Chicago in the Elite 8 on May 20 and No. 9 Johns Hopkins University in the Final Four on May 21. The Bears look ahead to one final match against No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer on Friday, May 23, to try and bring a national title back to St. Louis.

Elite 8: WashU vs. No. 1 UChicago 

Going into their quarterfinal match against the Maroons, the Bears were already familiar with the challenge D-III’s top-ranked team represented, having lost to UChicago twice earlier in the season. On April 12, the Bears lost 1-6 away in a regular-season conference matchup. Two weeks later, the Maroons also killed the Bears’ conference title aspirations with a slim 4-3 victory. This time, however, the Bears had the last laugh, reversing the conference championships scoreline to win 4-3.

As they did in their two earlier rounds, the Bears started strong by winning the doubles point. Sophomore Eleanor Archer and first-year Caitlin Bui, the No. 4 doubles team in D-III, won their set 6-2. Junior Eliana Hanna and first-year Ally Lin clinched the point in a tiebreak, winning 7-6 (7-3).

The singles section required every single match to be played out. Chicago claimed the first point as junior Amber Edmonds fell to No. 8 ranked singles player Clara Zou. Archer, No. 35 in singles, then earned a massive point by beating No. 9 Erica Ekstrand. Points were traded once again as Hanna fell at the No. 3 court, but junior Nina Moravek won at the No. 6 court. No. 11 Bui lost an incredibly close three-setter against No. 14 Sylwia Mikos 2-6, 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), to tie the overall match 3-3. Lin at the No. 4 court gave the deciding victory for the Bears, coming back to win 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. 

With Lin’s win, the Bears earned their first national semifinals berth as well, getting revenge on the Maroons and their first victory against Chicago in over ten years. 

Final Four: WashU vs. No. 9 Johns Hopkins

The Bears had a short, one-night turnaround before their semifinals match against the Blue Jays, another opponent that the Bears lost to earlier this season on March 1. This time around, the Bears enjoyed an easier scoreline en route to a victory, winning 4-1.

Once again, the team secured the doubles point with two victorious sets from Archer and Bui, who won 6-4, and Hanna and Lin who won 7-5. The Bears won three of the first four singles matches to secure the match. Bui on the No. 2 court earned the team’s second point in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4. Moravek then lost at the No. 6 court 1-6, 5-7, but Hanna made the score 3-1 winning 7-5, 7-5.

All three remaining matches reached a third set of play, but Lin, for the second round in a row, would win the decider for the Bears. Once again she came back to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to secure the team’s chance to win it all. This was the team’s fourth victory against a top-ten opponent this season.

WashU will face No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer in the national championship on May 23. Pomona-Pitzer poses a tough test as it has three top-25 ranked singles and the No. 5 doubles partnership, ranked right behind Bui and Archer. The Sagehens, one-time champions in 1992, took down East Texas Baptist, No. 14 Trinity, No. 5 Wesleyan, and No. 6 Emory en route to the final and are riding a hot streak of 14 consecutive wins. For a chance to win it all, the Bears will seek to stop the Sagehens’ momentum and take down another top-ten opponent to set a championship precedent this Friday evening.