Two players, Cary Gibson and Grace Baljon, from national team champion Williams College advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Singles Championships after winning their respective quarterfinal matches. Gibson came back from being a set down to defeat Brittany Berckes 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
After playing a first set that lasted 1 hour 23 minutes and featured a service game that endured 11 deuces, Grace Baljon won the set 7-6, 7-1 in the tiebreak. “Grace played the big points really well, and kudos to Lauren Caire for not letting up after that first set,” said Williams head coach Alison Swain.
Baljon held a 5-2 lead in the second set before Caire tightened the match after winning the next two service games to close the gap to 5-4. However, Baljon closed out the match by earning four consecutive points on her serve.
Siobhan Finicane of Pomona-Pitzer was the first player to stamp her name in the semifinals after she defeated Kristen Raymond of Bowdoin 6-4, 6-2 despite being down 3-0 in the early stages of the match. Meghan McCooey of Tufts advanced to the round of four by defeating Nicole Pontee of Vassar 7-5, 6-3. Finicane and Gibson are the only seeded players left in the draw.
Finicane will face Baljon, while Gibson will face McCooey, who is quietly moving through the draw.