5/2/2011
OBERLIN, Ohio – For the first time since the 1998-99 season, the Allegheny women's tennis team earned a third-place finish at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament. A victory in their opening match against Wittenberg University on Saturday ensured that the Gators (13-9, 2-4 NCAC) would finish in the top-four for the fourth consecutive year. On Sunday, the Gators dropped their first match of the day to nationally-ranked Denison University, 5-0, placing them in the third-place match against a familiar foe in Oberlin College for the fourth consecutive year as well.
The match against Oberlin for third-place in the conference began just after 5:00 p.m., and it was not until nearly five full hours until the match was decided.
Playing doubles on outdoor courts, the Gators jumped out to a big lead through the opening doubles play as they swept all three matches. Needing just two wins out of the remaining six singles matches, rain forced the completion of the match to be moved indoors.
The change of venue for singles play would be when Oberlin would make their run as they rattled off four straight-sets wins to eventually knot the match at four-all, and set up the thrilling decisive match.
Prior to the final match, at flight three singles, Sara Longo notched one of the two victories the Gators needed to clinch the match. Longo's win was a complete role reversal after she lost in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, to the same opponent, Preeya Shah, a little over a week ago. This time, Longo endured a tough set one loss that had to be decided in a tie-breaker, 6-7 (11-13), but rallied to take the second and third sets with relative ease, 6-2, 6-0 for the win.
Charged with the enormity of the situation, and having to battle the home-court advantage in favor of Oberlin, the fate of the match would come down to junior Elyse Schmitt at flight five singles. Despite it all, Schmitt was not rattled by the situation from the outset. She took a closely contested first set 6-4, but fell in the possible close-out second set 1-6, pushing not only the singles match, but the entire team match to the brink.
In that decisive third set, Schmitt found herself down at one point 5-3, and in danger of losing the match. Determined not to let that happen, Schmitt upped her level of play, roaring back in the third set to take the next four games to win the third set, 7-5, and clinch the match for the Gators.
The win itself, but particularly against Oberlin, is a monumental one in the growth of the up and coming women's tennis program. This year alone, they have had an eight-win turnaround from a year ago, and for the first time in the past three years, the Gators came out on top of Oberlin in the NCAC Tournament.
