WASHINGTON, Pa. – The No. 3 seeded Washington & Jefferson College women's tennis team (10-5) downed the visiting No. 6 seeded Westminster Titans (3-9) by a score of 4-1 in the opening quarterfinals round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Presidents went down early in partnered play, losing a closely contested doubles point. W&J opened the quarterfinals with the first match victory of the night at No. 2 doubles. Partners
Austyn Paugh (Jane Lew, W.Va./Notre Dame) and
Mackenzie Gumto (Renfrew, Pa./Knoch) won their match at the second doubles slot by a score of 6-3. W&J went on to drop the remaining two doubles matches by scores of 7-6 (7-4) and 7-6 (7-3) at No. 1 and 3 doubles.
W&J marched back and clinched the PAC Tournament victory with a dominant performance in individual play. Freshman standout
Keira Ross (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) put the Presidents on the board with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 5 singles to tie the team score at 1-1. Senior captain
Claire Loomis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) followed shortly behind with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles to give the Presidents the lead 2-1. Paugh won her No. 6 single match by a score of 6-0, 6-1 to put the W&J a point away from clinching the victory.
Bella Graham (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) pulled through at No. 4 singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win to secure the 4-1 victory for the Presidents.
W&J is set to travel to the No. 2 seeded Grove City Wolverines on Thursday (Oct. 22) in the PAC Semifinals. Action is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. with doubles play.
