MARION, Ind. -- Indiana Wesleyan University made a clean sweep of Crossroads League women’s tennis championships as they defeated Marian (Ind.) 5-2 on Saturday in the tournament championship match at Sutter Tennis Center.
The Wildcats won the Crossroads League regular season championship with a perfect 8-0 mark in league play. The No. 1-seed in the tournament rolled through the competition and defeated the Knights for the second time this season.
“Marian played us very tough,” said IWU head coach Eddy Shigley. “They came to compete and it was a great match.”
Indiana Wesleyan has now qualified for the NAIA National Championship during the spring season. The national tournament is May 17-21, 2016 in Mobile, Alabama. Heading into the year, Indiana Wesleyan and Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) were the only two women’s tennis programs to qualify for every national tournament since it switched to a team format in 2000.
“This qualifies us for the NAIA National Tournament in Mobile, Alabama in May,” said Shigley. “We are very proud how the girls played, competed, and practiced the entire fall.”
Indiana Wesleyan gained the early advantage over Marian with wins in two of three doubles matches. Katie Wilson (SR/Middletown, Ind.) and Lucia Solis (FR/Tucuman, Argentina) won 8-3 in the No. 1-doubles match and Rachel Bottorff (JR/Newburgh, Ind.) and Alex Mella (FR/Libertyville, Ill.) earned an 8-4 victory in No. 2-doubles. Kelsey Vessels (JR/Roanoke, Ind.) and Ellen Hornett (JR/Fishers, Ind.) lost a close 8-6 contest at No. 3-doubles.
The Wildcats won three of the first four completed matches in singles to clinch the team victory 5-2. The match was concluded once the Wildcats got the necessary points to win the championship.
Solis quickly won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1-singles, Bottorff also won by a 6-2, 6-2 score at No. 3-singles, and Marissa Klein (FR/Evansville, Ind) earned the point at No. 6-singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
“Rachel, Mikayla, and Katie all had match point at the same time,” stated Shigley. “Rachel just won the point first. It was almost a 7-2 match with all of them finishing at the same time.”
Wilson led 6-3, 5-3 at No. 2-singles and Mikayla Marazzi (JR/Abbotsford, BC) was up 6-4, 5-4 at No. 5-singles when the match was called. Mella was defeated 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4-singles.
Indiana Wesleyan ends the fall season today with the Crossroads League regular season and tournament championships. IWU will head into the spring season with a 15-0 record.
