RICHARDSON, TX (05.13.22) - Thanks to three quick singles victories, the No. 29-ranked UT Dallas women's tennis cruised to a 5-1 win over No. 34 Linfield Friday afternoon to open the NCAA D-III National Championship Tournament. The Comets serve as the host for a five-team regional at the UTD Tennis Courts.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The Comets (12-2) grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles play but three straight-set singles wins secured the program's second-ever victory in the national tournament. UTD will next face No. 2-ranked Pomona-Pitzer at 2 p.m. Saturday in the second round. With a win over the Sagehens, UTD would advanced to the regional title match at 12 p.m. Sunday.
The top-flighted doubles squad of
Samantha Wong and
Elyssa Ducret set the tone for the Comets with a brisk 8-1 win over LU's Tessa Kern and Lexie Matsunaga to give UTD an early 1-0 advantage. The Wildcats countered with an 8-4 win at No. 2 to even the match but Comets
Suzuka Nishino and
Megan Zeng gave UTD back the lead with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles over Allena Wong and Emma Tuttle.
Ducret was the first Comet to wrap up her singles match, downing Sarah Forester, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 4. Nishino added a 6-0, 6-3, win over Taryn Fujimora at No. 2 and Wong secured the team victory with a 6-2, 6-0, win over Kern at No. 1.
At the conclusion of the match,
Saumya Vedula (No. 3) and
Rebecca Jackson (No. 5) were both up a set in their respective singles matches.
The Comets' first NCAA tournament victory came in 2019, a 5-4 win over Linfield in Claremont, Calif.
