The women’s tennis team earned its second 9-0 win of the season in its penultimate match against Smith on Friday.

The Cardinals did not drop a set in the match and lost more than three games in a set only twice. The win was the second straight in which Wesleyan did not lose a set, following a 5-0 win against Hamilton on April 15. The Cardinals improved to 9-7 with the win and are now assured of their second straight winning season for only the second time in team history.

Wesleyan opened the day with three easy doubles wins. The number-one duo of Madalina Ursu ’09 and Anika Fischer ’10 won its match 8-3, and number two Rachael Ghorbani ’09 and Alex Sirois ’09 won by the same score. At the number three spot, Ania Preneta ’09 and Lizzie Collector ’09 had an even easier time, losing only one game en route to an 8-1 victory.

Wesleyan’s dominance continued in the singles matches. At the top spot, Preneta broke a six-match losing streak with a dominating performance. She won her first set 6-0 behind her powerful backhand and was leading her second 3-0 when her opponent retired, giving Preneta the automatic win.

At second singles, Ursu cruised through the opening portion of her match with a 6-2 decision in her first set. Her second set was more of a struggle, as her Smith opponent gained momentum with her consistent groundstrokes. The power game of Ursu, however, was too much for her opponent to handle, as Ursu’s penetrating forehand and backhand led her to a 6-4 win in the second set for the victory.

At third singles, Ghorbani, the most powerful hitter on the women’s team, eked out a 7-5 win in her first set before cruising to a 6-3 decision in the second set.

The bottom of the lineup sported three dependable freshmen, Anika Fischer, Meredith Holmes, and Casey Simchik, all of whom won in convincing fashion. Fischer won her second straight match and fourth out of her last five, 6-1, 6-1, and number five Meredith Holmes ’10 won her third in four matches, 6-2, 6-0. At the number six spot, Casey Simchik ’10 improved her record to 9-3 with a 6-2, 6-2 win.

In related tennis news, Fischer dislocated her arm over the weekend, reducing the number of healthy players on the Cardinals’ roster to seven. Fischer became the third Cardinal to etch her name in the injury book over the course of the spring, with Tori Santuro ’07 out for the year with a broken collarbone and Alex Sirois returning to action during spring break after fracturing her foot over winter break.

With one match remaining, the Cardinals have a legitimate chance at a second consecutive 10-win season (the team had an 11-4 record in 2005-2006). Only once in the program’s 34-year history has Wesleyan had back-to-back 10-win seasons; the team finished 11-4 in 1997-1998 and 13-3 in 1998-1999. The Cardinals will attempt to duplicate this feat in their regular-season finale against Mt. Holyoke today.