LEXINGTON, Va. – Denison women's tennis ended their NCAA Tournament run on Sunday afternoon as the 24
th-ranked Big Red suffered a 5-2 loss to regional-host and No. 18 Washington & Lee in the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship at the Duchossois Indoor Tennis Center in Lexington, Virginia. This was Denison's ninth trip all-time to the third round of the NCAA Championship, and DU's first since 2011. This is also the furthest the Big Red have advanced in the national tournament since 2016 when they reached the second round.
Opening Sunday's match on the doubles courts, the Big Red took early control of the match when DU's No. 2 tandem of
Sydney Cianciola and
Sarah Robertson defeated W&L's Gabi Moss and Becket Waters, 8-5. The Big Red also grabbed a win in the top flight when the nation's 19
th-ranked doubles duo of
Alex Cash and
Hannah Cianciola posted an 8-6 victory over Taylor Garcia and Margaret Carlton.
Despite Denison's 2-1 lead, the Generals stayed alive with a win on the No. 3 court when Kaitlyn Chalker and Nell Covington handed an 8-5 loss to DU's
Monique Brual and
Kendall Schrader. The Big Red entered singles play with a 2-1 advantage.
In singles play, Washington & Lee jumped out with an early win in the top flight after
Sydney Cianciola suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Garcia and Izzy Koziol defeated
Hannah Cianciola, 6-2, 6-2, in No. 4 singles. The Generals took their first lead of the match, 3-2.
W&L added to their lead in No. 6 singles when junior
Hannah Bradvica fell to Waters, 6-0, 6-2. In the final match point of the day, Valerie Marshall outlasted DU's Cash, 6-3, in the first set of No. 2 singles, leading to a second set. In the final set of the day, Cash pushed Marshall to her limit with a one-point deficit at 6-5, but Marshall tallied the final point as the Big Red closed out their first NCAA appearance since 2016. With the win, W&L will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals where they will match up with the second-ranked team in the nation, Wesleyan University.
The Big Red ended their 2021 season with a final record of 8-4, including a 4-2 mark in NCAC East divisional play. Denison received All-NCAC recognition for
Sydney Cianciola,
Alex Cash, and
Hannah Cianciola, with
Sydney Cianciola earning Newcomer of the Year honors. All three players also qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Singles & Doubles Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee on May 28-30.
