MOBILE, Ala. - The Goshen women's tennis team set another first in program history on Tuesday evening in Mobile, Alabama. Not only had the Leafs qualified as a team for the NAIA National Championship for the first time, but now they have their first ever tournament win in program history.
Marin Kawano, who has now had the clinching point in Goshen's last three postseason wins, got the winning point at #5 singles as #14 Goshen beat #19 Holy Cross 4-3.
The Saints won 4-3 when the teams last met in early March, but Goshen is now 13-2 since that meeting. Competing in the heat at the Mobile Tennis Center, the Leafs got off to a hot start by winning the doubles point 2-0.
Vishmi Serasinghe and
Sara Nino earned a 6-3 win at #3 doubles and
Blanka Bodo and
Maria Clara Fonte matched it was a 6-3 score at #1 doubles. The match at #2 doubles went unfinished at 4-4 since the Leafs had already clinched the point.
Uliana Dotsenko had a forceful 6-3, 6-1 win at #1 singles to give Goshen a 2-0 lead. The Saints answered with an equally dominant win at #4 singles before
Blanka Bodo answered back with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win at #2 singles.
Goshen was just a point away from the win with three singles matches yet to be finished. However, Holy Cross made the match a little more interesting. They had a straight-set win at #3 singles after winning the first set in a tiebreak. The same was true at #6 singles. Now the match was tied 3-3, with all eyes on the #5 singles court.
It all came down to freshman
Marin Kawano. The Leafs were in good hands, as Kawano won her first set tiebreak and won the clinching points in Goshen's Crossroads League quarterfinals win over Grace and their semifinals win against Indiana Wesleyan. She pulled through yet again, winning the second set 6-4. The Leafs advanced to the second round with a 4-3 win.
With her doubles win,
Blanka Bodo now holds the school record with 45 career doubles wins, passing Sarah Yoder ('05). Her singles win is the 50th of her career, extending her own school record. Five of the top six single-season wins in a season in singles for any position have come from players this season.
Dotsenko's singles win puts her into a tie for the second-most wins in a season while playing primarily at #1 singles.
This is the sixth national tournament win in Goshen College history across any sport. It is the first since the women's basketball 89-72 quarterfinal win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 12, 2016.
Goshen will play the #3 team, Tennessee Wesleyan, on Wednesday at 2:00 pm EST. The Bulldogs have an 18-1 record and have won 16 straight matches, with their only loss to Keiser - the #1 team in the tournament. The winner of this matchup will advance to the quarterfinals round and face off against either #6 Southeastern (Fla.) or #11 Loyola (La.).
