The women’s tennis team split its final NESCAC matches over the weekend, losing 9-0 to Williams on Saturday, but rebounding to sink Hamilton 5-0 on Sunday. The Cardinals currently sit in eighth place in the 11-team NESCAC, one-half game behind Trinity (2-2) and Connecticut College (1-1).

The best possible finish for Wesleyan is a sixth-place tie with Trinity, Connecticut College, or Williams (2-1). However, each of those teams defeated Wesleyan, giving them the head-to-head tiebreaker. Only the top six teams make the playoffs, so the Cardinals have officially been eliminated from postseason contention.

However, the prospect of back-to-back ten-win seasons—for only the second time in the program’s 34-year history—still remains. The team now enters the penultimate week of the season with an overall record of 9-7 (3-5 NESCAC) with two matches left, one each against Smith and Mt. Holyoke.

Williams rolled into Middletown for its first action in 11 days with an 11-2 overall record. The Ephs began the day by sweeping the three doubles matches. The top duo of Madalina Ursu ’09 and Anika Fischer ’10 fell by the score of 4-8, while the number-three pair of Ania Preneta ’09 and Lizzie Collector ’09 was defeated 2-8. Number-two Rachael Ghorbani ’09 and Alex Sirois ’09 had the closest match of the three, a 6-8 defeat.

Wesleyan did not fare much better in the singles matches. In the top spot, Preneta sustained her sixth consecutive loss, 2-6, 2-6. Number-two Ursu and number-six Casey Simchik ’10 fell by identical 1-6, 0-6 scores, the fifth straight defeat for Ursu and third in four matches for Simchik after a 7-0 start. Number-four Fischer fell, 0-6, 0-6, while Meredith Holmes ’10 was defeated 2-6, 2-6. At the number three spot, Ghorbani provided the only set win for the Cardinals on the day in a 2-6, 6-4, 3-6 loss.

“Williams is one of the best teams in the NESCAC,” Fischer said. “We were definitely the underdog. We knew it would be tough, but the results were disappointing nonetheless.”

However, the Cardinals rebounded on Sunday to take down Hamilton in an expedited match, 5-0. The day opened with the doubles matches; Ursu and Fischer returned to the win column with an 8-5 victory, while Ghorbani and Sirois eked out a 9-7 win.

Preneta and Collector’s match was not nearly as close as the other two, as the duo rolled to an 8-1 triumph. On the singles side, Preneta earned her first northern win of the spring season, 6-2, 6-1, and Fischer earned her third win in four matches, 6-2, 6-1.

This gave the Cardinals five wins on the day, guaranteeing a victory in the match. With the outcome decided, the two teams decided not to play the remaining four singles matches. At the time of cancellation, Ursu had won her first set, 6-2, and was up 5-2 in the second; Ghorbani was leading her third set, 4-0.

“We really needed this win,” Fischer said. “So I’m glad we were able to put the Williams match behind us and play well [against Hamilton].”

Due to heavy rain and wind, the match was moved indoors to Bacon Field House. The removal of the elements, however, did not pose a problem for the team.

“We’re used to it,” Fischer said. “We’ve practiced equally indoors and outdoors this spring. I don’t think it really matters.”

The Cardinals finished their conference schedule with a 3-5 record against NESCAC teams. However, Wesleyan’s official NESCAC record is 2-3 (8-5 overall), because this year, the NESCAC required each team to play five games against conference opponents and only counted five games in each team’s NESCAC record. Although Wesleyan’s record against all NESCAC opponents would be used as a tiebreaker if necessary, its games against Bates, Connecticut College, and Trinity do not count in the overall NESCAC standings.

The Cardinals will be back in action at home against Smith on Friday at 3:30 p.m.