WILMINGTON, Del. - - Facing the only other undefeated team remaining in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, the Wilmington University women's tennis team defeated Chestnut Hill, 7-0, on Wednesday afternoon at the Delcastle Tennis Center.
It is the 19th straight regular season conference win for the Wildcats (3-0, 3-0 CACC), winners of the past two CACC Regular season and Tournament Championships.
In order to win the doubles point on Wednesday, the Wildcats needed to win the final two matches after the Griffins (4-2, 2-1 CACC) won at No. 1 doubles, 6-1. Fenna Swaan and Kushi Khandoji pushed the point to the final match with a 6-4 win at No. 2, and then Jess Purdy and Gloria Barcaro gave the Wildcats the point with a 7-5 victory at No. 3 doubles.
The momentum carried over into singles play for the Wildcats, as Larize Nel was the first to finish at No. 5, winning 6-2 and 6-1. Valentina Ivankovic made it 3-0 with 6-2 and 6-1 win at No. 4 singles before Marley Trifunovic gave the Wildcats the team victory with a 6-3 and 6-2 win at No. 6.
Kushi Khandoji kept the sweep alive with a 6-1 and 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles before both Alva Norberg and Jess Purdy came back from down a set to win their matches. Norberg dropped the first set, 6-3, but fought back to win the second set, 6-2, to force the third set tiebreaker. The match extended into extra points before Norberg came out on top, 12-10, to make it 6-0. Purdy dropped the opening set, 6-4, before bouncing back with a 6-4 win in the second set. She was then able to complete the sweep with a win in the third set tiebreaker, 10-5.
The Wildcats are back in action on Friday as they kickstart the 2023 Homecoming Gameday festivities with a CACC match against Dominican. The first serve is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Delcastle Tennis Center