Women's Tennis
Deering stars as women’s tennis splits weekend
Sophomore Grace Deering and senior Jamie Silverberg upset the second-ranked doubles team in Division III, but the rest of the Washington University women’s tennis team was unable to do the same on Saturday.
After defeating No. 12 Sewanee 6-3 on Friday afternoon, the No. 13 Bears fell by the same score to No. 2 Emory University, giving the team a split in the opening weekend of its spring season.
Deering starred for Wash. U., winning both of her singles and doubles matches against the Bears’ ranked opponents, to continue her strong sophomore season. Deering was part of the Bears’ doubles team that registered a runner-up finish in the Central Region tournament last fall.
Wash. U. started its season off strong on Friday, with a win over the Sewanee squad that eliminated the Bears in the NCAA Division III tournament last spring. Deering and Silverberg teamed up for one doubles victory and junior Kaylan Griffith and sophomore Kate Lee did the same at No. 3 doubles, where they pulled out a tiebreaker win to give the Bears the team lead.
In singles play, Lee, Deering, Silverberg and junior Rebecca Ho all collected victories—the latter three in routine straight-set wins.
The Bears’ outlook was trickier against Emory, which boasts one of the deepest and most talented teams in Division III tennis. Deering and Silverberg won at No. 1 doubles, which moved Silverberg into a tie for 10th place on Wash. U.’s career wins list, but Emory took the other two doubles matches.
A similar pattern from the day before held in singles play, but with Wash. U. on the losing side this time. Deering posted another straight-sets victory at No. 3 singles and Lee won her match in a tiebreaker, but Emory swept the four remaining matches to collect the team win.
The loss marked Wash. U.’s 12th straight against Emory, dating back to 2000, but the Bears might get another crack at their longtime nemesis in the University Athletic Association tournament in April.
In the meantime, Wash. U. continues its run of difficult competition to open the season. The Bears play No. 14 DePauw University on Sunday before competing in the national indoor championships later in the month.