Amherst Overcomes Williams 5-4 for 2008 Women's Tennis Championship

Courtesy Middlebury/Amherst Sports Information

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – For the third consecutive season, second-seeded Amherst defeated rival and top-seeded Williams to claim the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Tennis Championship, as the Lord Jeffs earned a 5-4 win in the finals held at Middlebury College on Sunday. This is the fifth straight year Amherst has claimed at least a share of the title, and the fourth consecutive year the Jeffs have won the title outright.

The win was the eighth in a row for the Jeffs (15-1), whose lone loss of the season came at the hands of Williams (16-3) on Apr. 6.

Today, the match point was up for grabs at court four. Nikki Reich had won the deciding match earlier this month to help the Ephs defeat Amherst, but she could not pull out the win this time, and fell to first-year Laken King (Laurelton, N.Y.) in a tough and hard fought three-setter, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Despite notching a 2-1 lead in doubles play, Williams could muster only two wins in the singles lineup. Grace Baljon and Allie Rottkamp tallied victories at court two and court five, respectively, while the remaining four Ephs faltered. After teaming up for Amherst’s lone win in doubles play, sophomore Brittany Berckes (Secaucus, N.J.) and senior Alicia Menezes (Staten Island, N.Y.) won at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively.

Amherst grabbed the first two singles victories to go up 3-2, before Baljon’s win knotted the score. Then, Allie Rottkamp’s victory gave Williams the lead at 4-3. First-year Natasha Brown (Woodland Hills, Calif.) picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win in the No. 6 spot, leaving King and Reich alone on court four with the deciding third set left to be played.

It was no surprise that the match ended in a 5-4 result, as the last four meetings between these teams heading into Sunday’s finals had ended with one team coming out on top by a 5-4 margin. Amherst took a 2-1 lead in the season series, as the Jeffs had taken a 5-4 win at Williams in the fall before the Ephs took a 5-4 win at Amherst in the spring.

No. 2 Amherst 5, vs. No. 1 Williams 4

Doubles
1 - Alicia Menezes/Brittany Berckes (Amherst) def. Cary Gibson/Annie Schneidman (Williams) 8-3
2 - Allie Rottkamp/Grace Baljon (Williams) def. Jill Wexler/Natasha Brown (Amherst) 8-4
3 - Nikki Reich/Annie Hancock (Williams) def. Jennifer Murphy/Laura Stein (Amherst) 8-3

Singles
1 - Brittany Berckes (Amherst) def. Cary Gibson (Williams) 6-2, 6-4
2 - Grace Baljon (Williams) def. Jill Wexler (Amherst) 6-3, 6-2
3 - Alicia Menezes (Amherst) def. Ashley Parsons (Williams) 6-3, 6-1
4 - Laken King (Amherst) def. Nikki Reich (Williams) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5 - Allie Rottkamp (Williams) def. Monica Snyder (Amherst) 6-3, 6-4
6 - Natasha Brown (Amherst) def. Annie Hancock (Williams) 6-3, 6-1

2008 NESCAC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by Middlebury College - Friday-Sunday, April 25-27

Schedule of Matches
First Round - Friday, April 25
9:00 a.m.
No. 6 vs. No. 3
No. 5 vs. No. 4

Semifinals - Saturday, April 26
9:00 a.m.
Winner of No. 5/No. 4 vs. No. 1
Winner of No. 6/No. 3 vs. No. 2

Championship - Sunday, April 27
9:00 a.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 women'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 women's No. 3/No. 6 match will follow the No. 4/No. 5 match, followed by men's No. 4/No. 5 and men's No. 3/No. 6.  On Saturday in foul weather, the women'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 women's bottom half semifinal (winner No. 3/No. 6 match vs. No. 2) will go on second, followed by the men's top half semifinal and then the bottom half semifinal.  On Sunday in foul weather, the women's championship match will start at 9:00 a.m.  The men's match will begin at 1:00 p.m. or one half hour after completion of the women's final, whichever is later.

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

• NESCAC win-loss record
• NESCAC head-to-head with tied team(s)
• Wins/losses against other common NESCAC opponents
• Wins/losses against other common non-conference opponents

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.