Norcross, Ga. (May 2, 2010) – In a championship that came down to the final match, the Agnes Scott tennis team captured their second consecutive Great South Athletic Conference championship on Sunday, as they defeated Huntingdon, 5-4 at Racquet Club of the South.
The victory gives Agnes Scott an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships that begin May 14-16. The location and opponent for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships will be announced May 10.
In Sunday’s championship match, hosted by Piedmont College, play was delayed and eventually moved midway through the doubles matches due to bad weather. The new location was Racquet Club of the South, an indoor facility in Norcross, Ga.
When play resumed, the Agnes Scott doubles teams of Rachel Storz and Danielle Patton, along with Hannah Kraus and Natalie Mayer both scored 8-3 victories.
At third doubles, the score was tied 5-5, at the time of the rain delay and move. The Huntingdon team of Madison Jackson and Christian Vick came out strong following the delay, winning three games in a row to win the match, 8-5 and the final doubles point.
As singles play began, Agnes Scott carried a 2-1 lead. Huntingdon tied the score at 2-2 at the completion of the fifth singles match, as Huntingdon’s Kayla Heetland scored a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Agnes Scott quickly regained the lead at 3-2, as GSAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, Rachel Storz remained unbeaten in conference play, scoring a 6-4, 6-0 win at first singles.
Huntingdon stormed back to take a 4-3 overall lead as Riley Prescott and Christian Vick scored victories at second and sixth singles respectively. The lead would not hold, as Agnes Scott’s Danielle Patton scored a 6-3, 7-6 victory at third singles to tie the match at 4-4. Patton was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The conference championship came down to the result of the fourth singles match. Agnes Scott’s Shamonique Jones took the first set by a narrow 7-6 margin. Using the momentum of the victory in the first set, Jones jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the second set and closed out the match at 6-1, giving the Scotties the GSAC Championship.
This is the third GSAC tennis championship for Agnes Scott. In addition to last year’s title, Agnes Scott also won the GSAC championship in 2003. This will be the second appearance for the Scotties in the NCAA Championships. Last year, Agnes Scott advanced to the second round of 32.