W&L Women’s Tennis NCAA Tournament Preview – Final Location

LEXINGTON, Va. – The ninth-ranked Washington and Lee women’s tennis team is set to take on No. 4 Wesleyan (Conn.) on Monday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.
HOW THEY GET HERE:

After capturing their 23rd consecutive ODAC championship on May 3, the Generals (22-2) posted a 4-1 victory against No. 10 Trinity (Texas) in the second round of the NCAA before upsetting No. 7 Emory 4-3 on their home court in Atlanta. W&L will appear in the national quarterfinals for the first time in five years and 17th in program history.
The Cardinals bring a 20-2 record into the quarterfinals, with both losses being 4-3 finals against then-second-seeded UChicago (Feb. 27) and then second-seeded WashU (March 13). Wesleyan closed the regular season by beating No. 2 Bowdoin in the NESCAC title game, 4-0, before edging past Moravian (4-0) and No. 16 Amherst (4-2) last weekend. The Cardinals will play in the national quarterfinals for the eighth time in program history.
HEAR FROM COACH NESS:

“From the beginning of the season, we knew we were talented enough to make it to Chattanooga. We believed in each other and the process all season long, and all that hard work paid off last weekend with our wins over Trinity and Emory. However, the coaches and players set our sights even higher, and it showed with energetic and highly focused practices this week.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team, and we are excited about the opportunity before us this week to compete for a national championship.”

THE LAST EIGHT TEAMS:

The Generals and Cardinals side also features No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (22-0) and No. 7 Bowdoin (15-7), while No. 2 UChicago (14-2), No. 5 Babson (18-4), No. 3 WashU (19-3) and No. 8 Carnegie Mellon (18-7) make up the other four teams on the other side. the bracket.
W&L’s side of the group will play its quarterfinal matches on Monday at 11am EST, before the other two quarterfinal matches take place at 2pm. Both semifinal games will be played the next day at 5:00 PM EST, while the two remaining teams will meet on Thursday at 1:00 PM EST to compete for the national championship. All seven matches this week will be played at the Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

WATCHING W&L AND WESLEYAN:

The Generals are led into the final week of competition by the four-time ODAC Player of the Year Lauren Longwho also repeated as ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2026. Long has a 14-3 record at No. 1 singles this season and has won five straight matches en route to the team’s quarterfinals.
Freshman Margaretha Berdy leads the Generals in singles wins this season with an 18-4 record, playing primarily from No. 5, followed by senior Grace Lorenz with a record of 14-5. Freshman Sarah Ladd (12-7) and sophomores Allie Murrell (12-5) and Sarah Donnelly (11-6) complete a strong singles lineup for the Blue and White.
The Generals come with the same doubles line-up as last week, with Long/Lorenz at number 1, Berdy/Greer Webb at number 2 and Murrell/Haley Stoltz at No. 3. This doubles combination has been on the lineup card for each of the Generals’ last seven matches. Long and Lorenz are 6-3 at No. 1 this season, Berdy and Webb are 4-3 at No. 2, and Murrell and Stoltz are at No. 3 at 6-1.
The Cardinals feature the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in Agnes Guggenheim, who is 17-7 in singles this season, including a 10-4 mark at No. 2. Mariia Kornilova leads all Wesleyan singles players with a 23-1 record (10-0 at No. 4), with Lara Afolayanka tied with Guggenheim in singles wins.
Natalia Leroy and Sarah Youngberg have kept pace in singles with respective records of 15-3 and 13-4, while the Cardinals’ No. 1 seed, Leila Epstein, has an 11-10 record.
In doubles, Epstein and Lucinda Gatsiounis have been the Cardinals’ most common No. 1 tandem this season, who are 8-6 at a career high. Guggenheim and Afolayanka played together 10 times at No. 2 and won eight games, with Afolayanka playing another seven games at No. 2 with Youngberg (6-1). At No. 3, Kornilova and Kendall Smith have a combined record of 14-1, leading all Wesleyan doubles teams.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN CHATTANOOGA:

Of the eight teams remaining in the Division III Women’s Tennis Team Championship, 13 players were announced as qualifiers for the Division III Singles Championship, and another three were named as alternates. Four doubles teams selected for the doubles championship will also participate in the teams championship, along with an additional alternate doubles duo. These qualifications and alternates are listed below:
SINGLES QUALIFICATIONS & PLACES:

Matia Cristiani, Babson
Alessandra Sycharulidze, Babson
Ika Kanumuri, Carnegie Mellon
Jane Wong, Carnegie Mellon
Lindsay Eisenman, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Rebecca Kong, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Ananya Sriniketh, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Sarena Beer, Chicago
Clara Zou, UChicago
Lauren LongWashington & Lee
Eleanor Archer, WashU
Eliana Hanna, WashU
Agnes Guggenhein, Wesleyan (CT)
Third alternate: Cara Hung, Bowdoin
Fifth alternate: Leila Epstein, Wesleyan (CT)
Seventh alternate: Lara Afolayanka, Wesleyan (CT)
DOUBLE QUALIFICATIONS & ALTERNATIONS:

M. Cristiani / A. Sikharulidze – Babson
L. Eisenman / R. Kong, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
E. Archer / C. Bui, WashU
E. Hanna / A. Lin, WashU
First alternate: I. Kanumuri / K. Modak, Carnegie Mellon

FOLLOW THE PROMOTION:

All team matches will be streamed live via Track Tennis, with live scoring taking place on each court via the iOnSport app. Links will become available here and on generalssports.com closer to the start of the quarterfinals.

Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth oldest college in the United States and a leading liberal arts university. With more than 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated more than 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.