The Mary Washingron College women's tennis team added to the storied tradition of the most successful program among the twenty-three at the Fredericksburg school in 2002. With just one senior on its roster, the Eagles returned to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, marking the seventeenth time in the twenty-one year history of the NCAA Championships the Eagles have participated.
MWC opened the season playing mostly flighted tournaments in the fall. The Eagles did earn a 7-0 win at Division One George Mason University in the lone dual match of the fall. The spring season opened with the ream's annual trek to Hilton Head Island, SC, where the Eagles rook two of three matches, downing Winona State University and Meredith College. After returning from the spring trip, MWC closed the month of March winning five of seven matches. After impressive 7-2 wins over Swarthmore College and Franklin & Marshall College, MWC fell to third-ranked Washingron & Lee University in a showdown between the two top Division III women's tennis programs in the state of Virginia. The Eagles rebounded to post victories' over Johns Hopkins University and Hollins University before dosing March with a loss to nationally-ranked Kenyon College in a neutral site match.
The Eagles cemented their selection for the NCAA Tournament with a solid April. After opening the month with a 6-0 Ioss at Division One Loyola College, MWC finished the regular season by-winning four of its last five matches. Included in that number were two wins in three matches in one weekend, as the Eagles clowned Carnegie-Mellon and the College of New Jersey on the same day to improve to 10-4. The Eagles closed the regular season with a pair of 9-0 wins against state rivals Randolph-Macon College and Sweet Briar College.
Senior Steffany Slaughter and junior Dena Heath won CAC titles at number one and number six singles at the conference championships. Slaughter, who won MWC's female scholar-athlete of the year award, was named the CAC Player of the Year, and freshman Karli Schneider, who advanced to the championship finals at number two singles and number one doubles, was voted the CAC Rookie of the Year.
The Eagles returned to Lexington, VA for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, and again fell to the third-ranked, Generals, closing an impressive and somewhat surprising season with a 12-6 record, With four new players in the top six, the Eagles grew up quickly against a top flight schedule that included several Division One schools, as well as some of the top Division III comperition in the country.
The prospects for 2002-03 are very bright, as the Eagles lose just one player, albeit the CAC Player of the Year in Steffany Slaughter. With several rop returnees poised for another run at the NCAA Tournament, and an oustanding recruiting class, the 2002-03 season should be another memorable one in the outstanding history of women's tennis at Mary Washington College.