The University of Mary Washington women’s tennis team continued its ascension as one of the top NCAA Division III programs in the nation in 2006-07, finishing with a sterling 22-3 record and advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Under the guidance of head coach Patrick Catullo and led by All-America sophomores Stephanie Kurti and Becky Morse-Karzen, the Eagles won 16 consecutive matches this spring, with their only two defeats coming at the hands of eventual national champion Washington & Lee University.
After a successful fall season that included flighted tournaments at the Battleground and in Blacksburg, Va. and Newport News, Va., the Eagles prepared for the spring schedule. The opening weekend saw UMW sweep Division I opponents George Mason University and Towson University at the UMW Indoor Tennis Center. After a defeat at the hands of Division I UNC Wilmington, the Eagles rebounded to top Methodist College, 9-0, before embarking on their annual spring break trip to California.
The Eagles proved unstoppable on the west coast, defeating Occidental College, 9-0, before topping 10th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer College and 12thranked University of Redlands. The team returned home to face top-ranked Washington & Lee, but fell, 7-2, as the Eagles picked up wins from Kurti and Morse-Karzen at one doubles and from sophomore Kate Malpeli at five singles.
The Eagles then ran off 16 straight match wins, starting with 9-0 wins over Catholic University and York College, and an important win over #28 College of New Jersey, 6-3. The Eagles hit the road for wins over #17 Carnegie-Mellon University and 14th-ranked Swarthmore College, and then easily topped Capital Athletic Conference schools Salisbury University and St. Mary’s College, with a thrilling come-from-behind win over 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins in between. The Eagles led after doubles, but fell behind in all six singles matches before coming back to top the Blue Jays, 6-3.
The Eagles then won seven straight matches by 9-0 scores, closing the regular season with sweeps of Elizabethtown College, Goucher College, and Washington College, and then sweeping Goucher and Salisbury to claim the Capital Athletic Conference championship. After receiving a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles played Johns Hopkins in round two in a rematch of one of the most exciting meeting of the year. The rematch was even more thrilling,
as the Eagles lost all three doubles matches, but rebounded to win five of six singles matches for the 5-4 victory. The most successful season for the program in over a decade came to a close with a loss to W&L in the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
As UMW hosted the Division III National Championships, there was excitement in the air when Kurti and Morse-Karzen were named to the national doubles draw. The duo defeated Yassie Entekhabi and Jessica Nagasako of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the first round, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals, where they fell to eventual national champions Alicia Menezes and Brittany Berckes of Amherst College, 6-3, 6-3. For their advancement, the pair was named ITA All-America selections.
Prospects for 2007-08 are very high, as the Eagles return their top six, as well as 2007 CAC Rookie of the Year Danika Robison. In addition, seniors Katie Miglin, the 2006 CAC Player of the Year, and All-CAC selection Natalia Fugate will lead a veteran cast that includes CAC champions Kate Malpeli, Amy Sheetz, and Stacey Rickard. A talented freshman class will look to bolster the lineup, and a schedule that includes numerous nationally ranked programs will again provide a stiff challenge for the squad. With another season of experience and hard work in the offseason, UMW will look to again challenge as one of the top teams in the nation this year.