The women's tennis team beat the Bates Bobcats 7-2 on Wednesday in Lewiston. The victory leaves the Polar Bears at 9-4 for the season overall and 4-3 in the NESCAC.
After trailing 2-1 in doubles play, the team swept all six singles matches for the impressive 7-2 win. Playing at number one doubles, Emma Lewis '14 and Chantalle Lavertu '13 took a solid 8-2 win to gain Bowdoin's only point before entering into singles action where the Polar Bears overwhelmed Bates by winning every set.
Lewis at No. 2 and Lavertu at No. 3 earned their second points of the afternoon for Bowdoin 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively. The subsequent victories of Emily Lombardi '12 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 and Kate Winingham '14 6-0, 6-4 at No. 4 sealed the deal and put the match out of reach for the Bobcats.
Junior Hannah Hoerner's 8-6 win at No. 5 and first year Susanna Howard's 8-3 win at No. 6 rounded out the victory.
The team's win came after a tough 6-3 loss to the Middlebury Panthers last Saturday in the team's home finale at the Pickard Courts. The loss improved Middlebury's record to 8-1 for the season and 4-0 in the NESCAC.
Kellen Alberstone '13 and Winingham took a point for Bowdoin in the No. 1 doubles slot, while Alberstone was also victorious as top singles with a decisive 6-1, 7-5 victory.
Lavertu claimed a win at No. 5 singles 6-1, 6-3 to round out the Bowdoin points for the match.
In light of the recent victory, Alberstone expressed optimism about the team's ability to perform in upcoming matches.
"I am impressed by the way we have been competing even though we have fallen short the last few key NESCAC matches we have played," she said. "We have two more weekends of regular season matches until our conference tournament. We hope to finish our season strong and play some of our best tennis at NESCACs."
The team returns to the court tomorrow morning against Amherst on the road.