#5 Tartans Advance to Semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship

(GREENCASTLE, Ind.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team, ranked fifth nationally, competed in the first round of the 2013 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Division III Women's Team Indoor Championship, Friday, March 1 on the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.  The Tartans played #16 Skidmore College Friday and advanced to the semifinals with an 8-1 victory.  The win improves Carnegie Mellon's dual-match record to 4-1 on the season as the Thoroughbreds are now 1-1.

The Tartans started the match sweeping double play.  Senior Alexandra Tapak (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) and freshman Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) opened  with an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles. The doubles tandem of junior Katie Cecil (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) and sophomore Angela Pratt (Saratoga, Calif./St. Francis) then claimed the Tartans second point with an 8-4 win at No. 1.

Carnegie Mellon's sophomore doubles pair of Bryn Raschke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and Chelsea Motie (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) completed the sweep in doubles play for the Tartans as they won 8-3 in the No. 2 spot.  

In singles play, Cecil and Motie won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, to seal the Tartan victory.  Cecil won 6-1, 6-0 over Nataly Mendoza while Motie defeated Lee Ford 6-4, 6-0.

The Tartans also claimed victories at four, five and six singles.  Pratt won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 while Tsu won 6-4, 6-1 at five and Tapak won 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 at six.  

The Tartans will now play the 15th-ranked Tigers of Trinity University (Texas) at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. Trinity upset seventh-ranked Washington & Lee University 5-4 Friday afternoon.