For the first time in program history, the WashU women’s tennis team will be coming back to St. Louis as national champions, after defeating No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer 4-3 on May 23 in Claremont, California. As the No. 10 team going into the tournament, the Bears heated up at just the right time, defeating three consecutive top-ten opponents en route to lifting their first NCAA title. 

In last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Bears lost to Pomona-Pitzer in the Elite Eight. This year, they rewrote the script on the biggest stage, grinding out their first-ever win against the Sagehens in history.

The Bears, as they did in every round of the tournament, won the all-important doubles point to start the match. Junior Amber Edmonds and first-year Sam Slowik got the team rolling at the No. 2 court, beating Pomona-Pitzer’s pairing of Amelia Poor and Nyakiriri Kanefu, the No. 20 D-III pairing, 6-2. 

While junior Eliana Hanna and first-year Ally Lin lost at the No. 3 court, the No. 4 pairing of sophomore Eleanor Archer and first-year Caitlin Bui picked up yet another win as a duo this season, winning 6-3.

Now up 1-0, the Sagehens fought to ensure that the national title would be determined by the very last match of the singles section. The Bears continued their momentum as national singles No. 36 Hanna opened singles play with a straight set victory over No. 41 Kanefu 6-1, 6-2. 

Pomona-Pitzer drew the score back to 2-1 as their ace, national singles No. 4 Angie Zhou, beat No. 35 Archer in straight sets. No. 44 Lin, who has been undefeated for the Bears in singles play this tournament, continued her streak by winning 7-5, 6-2, and leaving the team one point away from becoming champions.

However, the Sagehens would fight back to win the next two matches. No. 11 Bui lost in straight sets 6-7 (1-7), 3-6, and sophomore Emily Chiasson just lost a three-set battle 6-2, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3. The Bears’ junior Nina Moravek was the last match to finish, and she completed a comeback victory 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 to bring home the first women’s tennis title to WashU.

With the win, the Bears wrap up a season for the record books. They were undefeated at home, avenged losses against No. 1 UChicago and this No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer team in the NCAA Tournament, and also saw the rise of two first-years into major contributors in Bui and Lin. The two combined for a singles record of 44-12 over the season, and Bui’s partnership with Archer had a formidable record of 27-4. 

The entire team’s season is not over yet, though, as Archer and Bui will compete at the individual D-III championships starting on May 24, as both a team and in singles after being selected by the NCAA committee for their strong season performances.