Middletown, Conn. – The Messiah College women's tennis team traveled to Wesleyan University (CT) to compete in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday morning. The Falcons took on the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen in the opening round and suffered a season ending 5-3 loss. Messiah didn't go down without a fight and finished with a program's best scoring three points in the National Tournament. No. 1 doubles, Kaitlyn Russell and Emily Wichert made history by securing Messiah's first-ever NCAA Tournament point after they defeated their opponents 8-4. Wichert and Amanda Adams also picked up a victories in the singles battles, to claim the Falcons' final two points of the morning. Messiah had an impressive year going undefeated (6-0) in MAC Commonwealth action, claiming their third MAC Commonwealth Title in the last four years, and making the program's third NCAA Tournament appearance.

How It Happened
The match started with doubles action and both No. 1 and No. 3 matches were very competitive. No. 1 Kaitlyn Russell and Emily Wichert had an early 5-3 lead, however the Anchorwomen narrowed the margin to one (5-4) after picking up a game. The Falcons continued to find momentum and closed out the set with three-straight points to win 8-4. As previously mentioned, this was the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament point in all three of their appearances.

In No. 3 doubles, Gabby Brooks and Rachel Marcroft were trailing early but battled back, narrowing the scoring margin to two points (7-5). However, Julie Marciniak and Emily Orticerio closed out the set 8-5 to secure another point for R.I. College. The Anchorwomen's first point of the day came at the No. 2 doubles slot, in which they swept Messiah's Amanda Adams and Rebekah Adams 8-0.

In singles play, Rhode Island College pulled ahead 4-1 after claiming two early matches at the No. 5 (6-2, 6-0) and No. 6 (6-2, 6-0) slots. However, No. 2 Emily Wichert picked up the Falcons' second point of the morning, defeating Victoria Vittori 6-2, 6-2. No. 3 Amanda Adams battled in her first set, winning it 7-6 (1) and finished off her match with a 6-2 victory in the second set to give Messiah their third and final point. No. 4 Rebekah Adams dropped her first set 6-3, however responded well and claimed the second set 6-2. Unfortunately she wasn't able to finished the match, due to the completion of the No.1 match. In the top-seeded match, Kaitlyn Russell dropped the opening set 6-4, but battled back to gain a 5-4 advantage in set two. However, Grace Zangari scored three-straight points to win the match 7-5 and to move on to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Falcons graduate a wealth of talent in Amanda Adams, Gabby Brooks, Kaitlyn Russell, Robin Schwarzmann, Sarah Summerson, and Emily Wichert. This core of student athletes played an important role in the program's success over the past four years, including three MAC Commonwealth Championships and three trips to the NCAA Tournament.