New Haven, CT — After this afternoon’s semifinals, the Amherst and Bates women will play for the Walker Cup, and the Bates and Williams men will play for the Summers Cup. The women’s E and men’s D, E, F, and H also saw main draw action this afternoon.
Women’s C Division – E Division
Women’s C Division (Walker Cup): After the first flight of matches, two-time defending Walker Cup champions Amherst had a 2-1 lead over Colby. Amherst didn’t look back, capturing the remaining matches and advancing to the final with an 8-1 win. The first flight of matches in the Bates-Bowdoin semifinal saw intense competition, as all three matches on court went to five games. Bowdoin won two of the three, jumping out to the early lead. The day, however, went to the Bobcats: they won the rest of the matches, including three more five-gamers. The final score was Bates 7, Bowdoin 2. Amherst and Bates will play tomorrow for the Walker Cup. The two teams have met once before this season, in mid January, and Amherst won that match 7-2. Amherst may have fresher legs tomorrow, but Bates is battle-tested. The final is scheduled for 11 am on Sunday. In this afternoon’s consolation semifinals, Hamilton defeated Tufts, 7-2, and St. Lawrence beat Wellesley, 7-2.
Women’s D Division (Epps Cup): The first Epps Cup matches of the day are currently on court.
Women’s E Division: With 12 teams, the E Division is the largest at this year’s National Team Championships. The round of 16 took place Friday night, the quarterfinals were played this morning, and the semifinals are scheduled for this afternoon. In the quarterfinals, Washington University in St. Louis upset top-seeded Colgate, 7-2. Johns Hopkins, the number 2 seed, narrowly avoided another upset, scraping out of 5-4 win over Northeastern. Bucknell and Georgetown advanced more comfortably, blanking Rochester and BU, respectively. In the semifinals, Georgetown continued to roll, ending Wash U’s run with a 7-2 win.
Men’s C Division – H Division
Men’s C Division (Summers Cup): Top-seeded Bates got out to an early lead in their semifinal against the University of Virginia. A sweep of the next three matches on court allowed the Bobcats to clinch the match early. Bates will face Williams in tomorrow’s final. Williams got on the board first in their semifinal against Wesleyan, winning two three-game matches at #6 and #9, and coming back to take a five-game match at #3. The next flight saw Wesleyan take two matches to four games, but the Ephs couldn’t be stopped. The second seed in the division advanced to the final with an 8-1 win. Bates and Williams are no strangers. The two NESCAC squads faced each other in early January, and the Bobcats won that match 6-3. Tomorrow’s final will be played at 2 pm.
Men’s D Division (Conroy Cup): In the D Division semifinals, Western Ontario opened up a 2-1 lead over Denison and galloped through the next flight of matches. The Mustangs, the top seed in the division, secured their spot in the Conroy Cup final before the third flight even began. The final score was Western 7, Denison 2. In the other semifinal, Dickinson and Stanford were tied 3-all going into the final flight of matches. The Red Devils, who competed in the G Division last season, swept the last three matches on court to win 6-3, giving them their first shot at a division title. Dickinson and Western Ontario haven’t played this season, so tomorrow’s final should be an interesting match.
Men’s E Division: (Chaffee Cup): In the first Chaffee semifinal, Conn College recorded an 8-1 win over Haverford in a competitive match. Five of the four matches went past three games, with the fifth game of the #3 match being decided 16-14 in Conn’s favor. In tomorrow’s final, Conn will face the winner of the Tufts/NYU match, which is scheduled for late afternoon. The Camels have played Tufts twice this season, losing the first match-up and winning the second 5-4; they have not played NYU this season.
Men’s F Division (Serues Cup): Boston University won the Hawthorn Cup in 2012, and tomorrow, the Terriers will have a chance to take home the Serues Cup. BU knocked off top-seeded Richmond in a dramatic 5-4 win this afternoon. The Terriers and Spiders were tied 3-all after two rounds of matches, and wins at #1 and #4 in the final flight gave BU the upset win. The Terriers will face either hometown rival Northeastern or the University of Miami in tomorrow’s final. In the consolation semifinals, Bard swept Minnesota, and Boston College won 7-2 over Washington.
Men’s G Division (Hawthorn Cup): The first Hawthorn Cup matches of the day were scheduled to begin at 5 pm.
Men’s H Division: Duke came into the weekend seeded fourth in the H Division; tomorrow, the Blue Devils will have a chance to win the title. Duke defeated top-seeded Cal Berkeley, 8-1. In the consolation semifinals, the University North Carolina defeated Oregon, 5-4. The Tar Heels dominated the top three matches in the ladder and were buoyed by a five-game win at #4.
