Women's Tennis advances in NCAA Tournament with 5-1 win over Transylvania

By: Monique Bowman

ATLANTA, Ga. –The Ohio Northern women's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA D-III Championships with a 5-1 win over Transylvania (Ky.) on Friday morning at Emory's (Ga.) Student Activity & Academic Center.

The victory was the program's first ever NCAA Championship win and also improves the team to 23-4 overall. Northern will move on to face Washington & Lee (Va.) in the second round on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Pioneers' season draws to a close with a 11-2 overall mark.

ONU took a 2-1 lead into singles play following wins at No. 2 and 3 doubles.

Sophomores Lauren Rife and Carly Olmstead picked up an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles first, followed by an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles by freshmen Brittany Miller and Kristin Cellentani.

Senior Kristen Timperman then won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles, followed by a 6-0, 6-0 win by sophomore Kelsi Wurm at No. 5 singles.

Cellentani closed out the match with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles.

The Polar Bears' match against the seventh-ranked Generals on Saturday will be the first time the two programs will face each other. W&L are 20-5 overall and received a first-round bye in this year's championship.