As most students were preparing for final exams, the women’s tennis team wasn’t just worried about acing their finals, but also acing their opponents as they began the quest for a NCAA DIII National Championship. From May 11 to May 27, 2024, the Cardinals competed in several rounds of the national tournament, making it all the way to the championships in St. Louis. 

When The Argus last covered the women’s tennis team, it had just won its fifth consecutive NESCAC championship. Although adding another NESCAC title to an already decorated team history was an amazing accomplishment, the excitement that followed had to be short lived. The Cardinals had less than a week to refocus and prepare to play for another title, this time on the national stage. 

“It was good for our confidence,” Jackie Soloveychik ’27 said. “Especially heading into NCAAs. It felt like ‘OK, we can do this on our local level, let’s bring it to nationals.’ We celebrated, but then we went right back to work.”

The Red and Black were awarded the No. 4 overall seed of the entire national tournament, which meant their road to the Elite Eight ran through Middletown. After being awarded a first round bye, they remained consistent in their preparations, as a battle with Stevens Institute of Technology on May 11 was on tap for the second round.

Wesleyan made quick work of the Ducks in doubles, as all three matches went to the Cards, 8–2. Only two wins away from a spot in the Sweet 16, Renna Mohsen-Breen ’25 and Macie Carlos ’27 calmly dismantled their opponents at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. With both of them winning 6–0, 6–0, the Cards advanced to the Sweet 16 against the University of Redlands. 

On May 12, the pairs of Caitlyn Ferrante ’24 and Sarah Youngberg ’26, and Lane Durkin ’27 and Mohsen-Breen continued the trend from the day before, swiftly defeating their Bulldog opponents, 8–2. However, Redlands got one back at No. 2 doubles, sending the match to singles at 2–1 Wesleyan. Mohsen-Breen once again took care of her opponent, only allowing her to win one game over the course of two matches. Youngberg followed suit, defeating her opponent 6–3, 6–2, and putting the Red and Black one win away from a trip to St. Louis. With Ferrante and Soloveychik in close matches and entering third sets, Durkin had an opportunity to seal the deal after bageling her opponent in the first set. The second set went back and forth, but Durkin held serve in the end, emphatically winning the second set 7–5. 

“It speaks to our mental toughness,” Durkin said. “We wanted to win so bad, and it was satisfying the way it ended up working out in our favor.”

As the academic year came to a close and students headed home, the Cards were on their way to St. Louis in pursuit of a National Championship. After touching down in Missouri, the team headed straight to the courts. Multiple players cited the first practice in St. Louis as a major tone setter for the trip.

“It was the most fun we had all season,” Durkin said. “Everyone’s energy was so high. We were screaming, cheering, laughing the entire time, and our coaches took a step back and really let us do our thing. It was one of the highlights of the whole trip, and we could tell after that practice that we were going to do something really cool at the tournament.”

Their Elite Eight match saw them pitted against Emory University on May 20, in what would be their closest match on paper of the entire season. The Cards started off doing exactly what they were known to do: excelling in doubles. The pairs of Leila Epstein ’26/Soloveychik and Durkin/Mohsen-Breen helped get Wes on the board early, as they led 2–1 heading into the singles matches. Durkin provided the third win in her singles match, but it was even at three apiece as Youngberg and Mohsen-Breen fell to their opponents. With each of the last three singles matches going into third sets, Epstein broke through and delivered a huge fourth victory for the Cards. But their lead was gone quickly, as Emory’s first singles player defeated Ferrante. It came down to Soloveychik, who had already fought through two difficult sets, and now she was locked in a battle for the right to play in the Final Four.

With all eyes on her, Soloveychik remained calm and focused on the task at hand.

“There were a few points where I just committed to the execution,” Soloveychik said. “It was definitely stressful, but when you’re in those matches, you’re locked in and you’re not thinking about anything else. You’re just thinking about one point at a time. It’s what you’ve been doing in practice and throughout the whole season, and especially when there’s so many people supporting you, it gives you this feeling of being grounded.”

Soloveychik was able to pull through in the end, winning the match 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. Her teammates mobbed her on the court, rejoicing in the fact that they were headed to the Final Four. However, there was not much time to celebrate, as they had to face the No. 1 overall seed the following day in Claremont Mudd-Scripps Colleges (CMS). And they had no idea how eventful of a semifinal match it would be. 

On May 21, riding the momentum from the Emory victory, the Red and Black were determined to pick up where they left off the day before and strike quickly. However, it was clear from the jump that this match would not be a normal one. It was an incredibly windy day in St. Louis, and the conditions threw the Cardinals off their rhythm in doubles. Durkin and Mohsen-Breen powered through the odd conditions and delivered Wesleyan’s first win, 8–7 (7–4). This was the only match the Cards were able to win in doubles, but they remained optimistic heading into singles. 

Early into the singles matches, a thunderstorm hit St. Louis, causing matches to be suspended and moved indoors. While this may have flustered many teams, it gave the Cardinals the opportunity to regroup before play resumed. 

Soloveychik highlighted the transition from uncertainty to confidence as the match moved indoors.

“I was feeling a little off that day,” Soloveychik said. “But after a couple games, there was a storm, so we all had to go inside and drive through the thunderstorm to the indoor courts. We love playing indoors because of Bacon Field House, so when we got there, we were high energy, high intensity, and I remember going back into that match and feeling like an energizer bunny from the first point on.”

An hour and a half after the initial delay, the Cardinals and the Athenas returned to action with the first four singles matches, and since there were only four indoor courts, Durkin and Mohsen-Breen had to wait until two matches were done to continue their matches. They got back on the courts early though, as both Ferrante and Youngberg pounced early and won their matches 6–1, 6–4 and 6–3, 6–2 respectively. Soloveychik was soon to follow, taking down her opponent after a tight second set 6–2, 7–6 (7–4). After taking a 4–2 lead, Wes had quickly regained control of the overall match with three singles matches to go.

The Athenas fought back, as Epstein fell to her opponent, leaving it up to Durkin and Mohsen-Breen to deliver on the Cardinals’ hopes of reaching the finals. After a hard-fought first set, Durkin controlled the second set masterfully, and after a nearly minute-long rally on match point, she capitalized on an unforced error by her Athena opponent and secured the win 7–6 (7–2), 6–1.

“That last point was super long,” Durkin said. “I was playing defense the whole time, and I was doing everything in my power to keep the ball in play. At that point, it was past midnight there, but once that last point ended, it was just an amazing moment knowing that we had won.”

On back-to-back days, it was the first years who sealed the deal for the Cardinals, Soloveychik against Emory and Durkin against CMS. Head Coach Mike Fried talked about the impact they’ve had throughout the year.

“I think that the best teams typically have a bit of a balance between upper and underclassmen.” Coach Fried said. “I think that oftentimes is more related, culturally, to team leadership and the ability to integrate seamlessly in a culture with shared values and standards…[Jackie and Lane] were, in many ways, a huge part of the backbone of our success last year.”

Despite downing the No. 1 seed, the Cardinals still had one more match between them and a national championship. Their final match would be on May 23, against No. 3 University of Chicago, who would be playing for the title for their third consecutive year. Although Wesleyan put up a fight in doubles play, the only victory would come from Durkin and Mohsen-Breen, who prevailed in a tiebreak to win 8–7 (7–4). Although the Cardinals entered singles down 2-1, the first years stepped up again, as Soloveychik won her singles match 6–3, 6–2, and Durkin won hers, 6–3, 7–6 (8–6). However, this effort unfortunately was not enough, as the Maroons grabbed three singles victories and defeated the Cards, 5–3. 

Although the team ultimately fell short in their quest of a national championship, it was clear that they had managed to build something truly special. They finished with a 22–1 record overall, remaining undefeated in NESCAC play. Ferrante was awarded NESCAC Player of the Year while Soloveychik earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Doubles pairing Ferrante and Youngberg finished as NCAA Semifinalists in the doubles championship, a feat the women’s team hadn’t accomplished since 2019. 

And, although tennis is a highly individual sport, Coach Fried expressed that it was the team culture, not the accolades, that he left the season feeling most proud of.

“It’s hard to really catch that lightning in a bottle where it feels organic across everybody in the entire team,” Coach Fried said. “I feel like we got there last year, and I think that’s the thing that we’re most proud of.” 

As the 2024–25 season approaches, the Cardinals look forward to defending their NESCAC crown and continuing their pursuit of a national championship. With the success of their last season on their shoulders, the team has learned to channel the pressure and expectations into motivation and excitement.

“We have a lot of confidence,” Durkin said. “We have three new faces, we’re fun to watch, everyone’s smiling, and our energy is unmatched on court. We’re a great representation of the Wesleyan school spirit, and I hope when people come to our matches this year, they can see that.”

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.

Georgia Adams can be reached at gadams@wesleyan.edu.