LEXINGTON, Va.--- The Asbury women's tennis team (13-5, 6-1 CCS) joined the men's team in making history on Friday morning as the first AU programs to compete in an NCAA DIII National Tournament, falling in a battle with North Carolina Wesleyan (10-6, 7-0 USAS) in Lexington, Va., 4-1.
AU earned the spot in the Washington and Lee University hosted NCAA Regional after defeating Piedmont University in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Championship.
North Carolina Wesleyan (NCW) confirmed the doubles point to open the match after a 6-2 win over CCS Player of the Year Ariadna Zegarra and CCS Rookie of the Year Katherine Nova, and another 6-2 win against Martina Paillet and Malory Watkins from Asbury.
Asbury seniors Megan Moore and Kourtney Kawata were leading 5-2 in the No. 3 doubles match over the Battling Bishops before the match was stopped short. The two were just a point shy of taking the win over NCW.
The deciding singles play was tight throughout the entire lineup. NCW took the top two matches while AU senior Martina Paillet earned a comeback win in the No. 3 matchup over NCW, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Asbury's No. 1, Nova, dropped her first set of the season, then responded with a 6-3 win in the second set before falling 6-3 in tie-break to drop the match to NCW. Before the loss, Nova was 15-0 in No. 1 singles during her freshman season in collegiate tennis at Asbury.
Zegarra, in the No. 2 match for Asbury, took the first set, 6-3, but then slipped in the next two sets to drop the match, 6-3, and 6-3. NCW also took the No. 4 match to reach four points overall, against Megan Moore in two sets.
The Battling Bishops earned a spot in the next round against Emory University, with their 4-1 victory.
Asbury concludes the 2024-25 decorated year with a Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I am a proud Asbury tennis alum officially. Although this wasn't the result we wanted, it is not a reflection of this whole season, which was amazing. I'm going to miss Asbury tennis. I have had an amazing four years in this program!"
Kourtney Kawata | Senior | Media Communication | Louisville, Ky.
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