FLUSHING, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University women's tennis season came to a close on Saturday, fighting hard but falling to No. 1 seed and host Queens, 4-2, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 on Saturday night at the QC Tennis Bubble.
The two teams met up late in the regular season with the Knights coming out on top, 7-0, but this time around, the Wildcats showed their fight and took the East Region's top seed deep into the contest.
Molly Carlberg and Ming-Fu Chen started doubles play with a 6-4 win at No. 1 and then Siana MacDonald and Ines Oliveira closed out a 7-6 (7-4) win at No. 3 doubles, giving the doubles point to the Wildcats, 1-0.
The top-seeded Knights jumped on the Wildcats early in singles play, taking matches at No. 2 and No. 4 to take a 2-1 lead. Ming-Fu Chen then won at No. 5 singles, 6-3 and 6-4, to tie the match, 2-2, but then the Knights closed out the victory with wins at No. 3 and No. 6.
The Knights' Lilie Bizouerne won at No. 3, 6-4 and 6-3, and then Regina Ruiz came back and won at No. 6 singles after being a set down, 4-6, 6-1, and 6-3, to clinch the match for the home team, 4-2.
Siana MacDonald came back and tied the match with a second set victory, 6-3, and was leading the third set, 1-0, when the match was called.
With the win, the Knights advance to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in Surprise, Arizona, and will compete in the NCAA's Round of 16.
The Wildcats completed a season in which they went 16-5 overall, winning their fifth straight CACC Tournament Championship in the fall.