Williams Surpasses Amherst for Women's Tennis Championship

Courtesy Middlebury Athletic Communications

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Williams won its fifth NESCAC Championship after a hard-fought 5-3 victory over rival Amherst (16-2) at Middlebury College. The Ephs (17-3) earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the Jeffs are expected to receive an at-large bid. The title for Williams its first since sharing the 2004 crown with the Jeffs.

Two of the three doubles matches were tightly contested, with Natasha Brown and Mimi Bell of Amherst earning a 9-7 win over Taylor French and Kristin Alotta at #2. Kathleen Elkins and Caroline Capute of Williams followed with an 8-6 victory over Caroline Richman and Jen Newman in the third slot to put the Ephs on the board.

Williams' Lucy Marchese tied the match at 2-2 when she defeated Gabby Devlin 6-0, 6-4 in the #3 singles position. Amherst answered when #1 Jordan Brewer topped Kristin Alotta 6-1, 6-0 to put the Jeffs on top, 3-2. Williams tied the match shortly thereafter, with Nancy Worley topping Carlissa King at #3, 6-3, 6-0.

The Ephs came within a point of clinching when Elkins defeated Richman 6-4, 6-3 in the #5 position. Williams took home the title with a 5-3 win when Nicole Reich topped Brown 6-4, 6-3 at #5 singles. Amherst's Lauren King was up a set on Capute when the match was halted.

Final Score: Williams 5, Amherst 3

Doubles (Order)
1. Jordan Brewer/Gabby Devlin (Amherst) def. Nicole Reich/Lucy Marchese (Williams) – 8-2 (1)
2. Natasha Brown/Mimi Bell (Amherst) def. Taylor French/Kristin Alotta (Williams) – 9-7 (2)
3. Kathleen Elkins/Caroline Capute (Williams) def. Caroline Richman/Jen Newman (Amherst) – 8-6 (3)

Singles
1. Jordan Brewer (Amherst) def. Kristin Alotta (Williams) – 6-1, 6-0 (2)
2. Nancy Worley (Williams) def. Carlissa King (Amherst) – 6-3, 6-0 (3)
3. Lucy Marchese (Williams) def. Gabby Devlin (Amherst) - 6-0, 6-4 (1)
4. Kathleen Elkins (Williams) def. Caroline Richman (Amherst) – 6-4, 6-3 (4)
5. Nicole Reich (Williams) def. Natasha Brown (Amherst) – 6-4, 6-3 (5)
6. Laken King (Amherst) led. Caroline Capute (Williams) – 6-3, 4-5 DNF

2011 NESCAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Friday, May 6 at Middlebury
No. 4 Middlebury 5, vs. No. 5 Bowdoin 1
No. 3 Tufts 5, vs. No. 6 Trinity 0

Semifinals - Saturday, May 7 at Middlebury
No. 1 Amherst 5, vs. No. 4 Middlebury 3
No. 2 Williams 5, vs. No. 3 Tufts 0

Championship - Sunday, May 8 at Middlebury
No. 2 Williams 5, vs. No. 1 Amherst 3

2011 NESCAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by Middlebury College - Friday-Sunday, May 6-8

Schedule of Matches
First Round - Friday, May 6
1:00 p.m.
No. 6 vs. No. 3
No. 5 vs. No. 4

Semifinals - Saturday, May 7
1:00 p.m.
Winner of No. 5/No. 4 vs. No. 1
Winner of No. 6/No. 3 vs. No. 2

Championship - Sunday, May 8
1:00 p.m.
Semifinal Winners

Format
The top six teams in the conference shall qualify for the championship.  The championship is a single-elimination tournament with no consolation matches.  The No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed shall receive a first round bye.  All matches will be played to conclusion unless there is inclement weather or other extenuating circumstances that the tournament committee believes warrants playing to decision.

Inclement Weather (Tentative)
In foul weather, the men's No. 4/No. 5 match will begin at 8:00 a.m. inside.  Additional matches will begin one half hour after the completion of the previous match.  The men's No. 3/No. 6 match will follow the No. 4/No. 5 match, followed by women's No. 4/No. 5 and women's No. 3/No. 6.  On Saturday in foul weather, the men's top half semifinal (winner No. 4/No. 5 match vs. No. 1) will begin at 8:00 a.m. inside.  Additional matches will begin one half hour after the completion of the previous match.  The men's bottom half semifinal (winner No. 3/No. 6 match vs. No. 2) will go on second, followed by the women's top half semifinal and then the bottom half semifinal.  On Sunday in foul weather, the men's championship match will start at 9:00 a.m.  The women's match will begin at 1:00 p.m. or one half hour after completion of the men's final, whichever is later.

Selection
Teams will be selected and seeded based on the following criteria (not in priority order):

Ties will be broken as follows:

• Head-to-head results
• In the event of a tie between more than two teams or a head-to-head result is not available, the following procedure will be used (in priority order):

1. NESCAC head-to-head results with tied teams
2. Win-loss record against other common NESCAC opponents
3. Win-loss record against other common in-region opponents
4. Win-loss record against other common out-of-region opponents
5. Latest ITA National ranking (in the event teams are not nationally ranked, regional rankings will be used)

Note: Only wins/losses may be used as a factor. Match score may not be used as a factor in determining seeding.

Tournament Committee
There will be separate men's and women's tournament committees consisting of four coaches each. Committee membership will rotate annually based on an alphabetical rotation. 

Announcement
The tournament committee will notify schools (and the Conference office) of the participating teams and seeding for the tournament.  Participating teams and seeding will be posted on the NESCAC web site after the committee has determined the final seeding and the appeal period has concluded.