Box Score
ST. PETER, Minn. - Every underdog wants to be Cinderella, but there’s a reason NCAA Tournament Cinderellas are so few and far between. They’re always playing top quality competition. The Edgewood College women’s tennis team fell to 20th-ranked Wheaton College (Ill.) 5-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Tournament on Thursday at Gustavus Adolphus College.
The Thunder rolled out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping the doubles matches. Hannah Pincsak and Lizzie Starck fell 8-3 to Jordan Hook and Elizabeth Worsowicz at No. 1 doubles. Hook and Worsowicz are ranked third in the Central Region among doubles teams. Kate Brondyke and Brittany Storhoff went down by the same score at No. 3 doubles to Sara Federschmidt and Lindsey Hallett. Wheaton’s Brittney Dunn and Kayli Edwards defeated Kelsey Steinhorst and Jenny Pietkauskis 8-0 at No. 2 doubles. Pietkauskis was substituting for Bridget Prendergast who was unable to compete.
In the singles matches, Edwards and Federschmidt put the finals nails into the Eagles’ coffin with a pair of 6-1, 6-0 victories. Edwards defeated Pietkauskis at No. 4 singles, while Federschmidt beat Becca Chavey at No. 6 singles. The remainder of the singles matches were left unfinished, since Wheaton had already clinched the team victory, however Starck was putting up a strong effort against Worsowicz at No. 2 singles, trailing 6-1, 4-3 when the match was stopped.
Wheaton College (17-4) will move on to a second round match tomorrow against 18th-ranked UW-Whitewater. The Eagles (13-12) end their season with a perfect NAC dual match record, an NAC Championship, five NAC singles titles, two NAC doubles titles and their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.