Women’s Tennis Avenges Championship Loss by Defeating Middlebury

Last year, after four straight NESCAC Championships, the women’s tennis team lost an incredibly close battle with Middlebury in the league championship on May 4, 2025.

Sixteen days later, the Red and Black fell to Pomona College–Pitzer College in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship tournament, a year removed from coming up two points short of winning a National Championship. With fuel from coming up short twice last season, the goal heading into this year was simple: Dominate, win NESCACs, and then win Nationals.

It would certainly be a different group this season compared to their last two runs. The end of last season saw the program graduate Renna Mohsen-Breen ’25, the second-winningest player in program history, and lose two more players. With this, in came four first-years, all of whom have played important roles in the Cards’ early success this season. After Lara Afolayanka ’29 and Kendall Smith ’29 qualified for the ITA Cup in Rome, Ga., last fall, momentum was strong for the new class heading into the spring. 

Captain Leila Epstein ’26 talked about how the upperclassmen have stepped up to define the team culture with such a new group.

“The team has become a little bit more student-run, perhaps in a positive way,” Epstein said. “Sarah [Youngberg ’26] and I have really taken the reins this season, and the freshmen are stepping up. A lot of the motivation comes from us, and [Coach] Steph [Yanosov] has been there to support us and help us figure out in which ways we can be working harder.”

After defeating Pomona-Pitzer and Emory University at the ITA Indoor National Championships to start the season, the Red and Black returned home for their first two NESCAC matches of the season. On March 7, the Williams Ephs came to town to open up the conference season. Three hard-fought doubles matches saw the Red and Black emerge victorious to snatch the first point of the overall match, and from there it was all Cards. A dominant performance in singles, highlighted by a 6–0, 6–1 win for Natalia Leroy ’28 and 6–1, 6–4 from Agnes Guggenheim ’29, saw Wes take the overall match 7–0, earning an impressive first win of the NESCAC season.

The next day, the Cards hosted the team that had snapped their NESCAC Championship streak last year, the Middlebury Panthers. It would be a major litmus test for the Red and Black to determine how this new lineup would fare against the defending conference champs. The Cards punched first, with Epstein and Lucinda Gatsiounis ’28 winning the no. 1 doubles match, followed by Leroy-Afolayanka winning no. 2 doubles. Then, after Leroy, Epstein, and Smith dropped their singles matches, it was up to Afolayanka and Mariia Kornilova ’29 to win their matches and earn the Cards the overall victory. After narrowly winning the first set, Afolayanka dominated the second set and won her match, 7–6 (7–2), 6–0. Then, after dropping her first set 6–1, Kornilova went 6–3, 6–1 in the second and third to snatch the victory away from Middlebury. Both match wins secured the 4–3 overall victory for the Red and Black, a crucial early season dub over their fierce Vermont rival. 

Epstein talked about the importance of the match and how valuable it was to emerge victorious.

“Middlebury is always our biggest rival in the NESCAC,” Epstein said. “What I remember is the freshmen stepping up. Agnes really turned the match around at two, and she got a bit of momentum going. Since we played the match in rotations, the last two on were freshmen, and I’ve been in that spot as a freshman. They handled the nerves well, and I think that has a lot to do with playing in [ITA] indoors. The big moments didn’t feel as big, so they were able to play some of their best tennis and get us through the match.”

Over Spring Break, the Red and Black traveled to Hilton Head, S.C., to soak up the sun and square off against four more strong opponents. It’s always a highlight of the season, and Guggenheim talked about how important the trip was for team camaraderie. 

“I think tennis is such an individual sport,” Guggenheim said. “But as I’ve come to realize, you can actually lean on other people because you’re just so used to doing everything on your own.”

The first match of the Spring Break trip was against Washington University in St. Louis (WashU), the defending national champions. The Cards just fell short of a victory, losing 3–4, with the Bears winning all three of their doubles matches and keeping their winning streak going into the singles round. However, Kornilova and Smith didn’t go down without a fight, with Kornilova taking a 7–5 victory and Smith a 6–4 victory. 

Even with the adjustment to playing outdoors and WashU’s highly stylized play, the Cards kept their motivation up heading into their match against Emory, where the Red and Black dominated with a 5–2 victory. The Cardinals swept all three doubles matches, leading into the individual play with confidence. 

Guggenheim talked about the confidence the doubles point instilled in the team as they continued the match. 

“We had lost the doubles point the first time we played them,” Guggenheim said. “It was great, we won doubles play this time, because we [realized], ‘OK, we’re even better now.’ Also, it’s a good confidence boost going into singles, feeling like you already have a sense of how the team is playing—like how well they hit or what type of game they like to play.”

Next, the Cardinals swept Johns Hopkins University and Babson College with 5–0 and 4–2 victories, respectively. Even with delays and a rushed warmup, the Cards still cleared the Blue Jays, winning all three doubles once again. The following day, the Red and Black took on an early match against the Beavers, sweeping once again despite cold weather. 

Coming out of the break, the Red and Black were prepared to enter the meat of the NESCAC season. First on the schedule were two matches against Connecticut rivals Trinity and Conn. College. On March 25, the Cards made the drive to West Hartford, Conn., to take on the Bantams. The match was over before they got off the bus; no Trinity player or doubles team got over three games during a set, as Wes cruised to a 7–0 match victory. Smith’s singles match was the most dominant out of the nine matches, as she bageled her opponent 6–0, 6–0. 

Four days later, the Red and Black were back in Bacon Field House to take on the Conn. College Camels. They showed similarly dominant form, winning all nine matches in straight sets for their second straight 7–0 victory. At no. 5 singles, Leroy only dropped one game the entire match, besting her opponent 6–1, 6–0. 

Epstein applauded the team’s effort coming out of the break. 

“We’re continuing to put in the work,” Epstein said. “The season is long, and we’re a team that’s going to continue to get better as the season goes on. If we continue to focus on ourselves and play our game, it’s gonna get us good results.”

Looking ahead, Wes hosts Tufts this upcoming weekend, followed by a weekend in Maine to take on Colby and Bowdoin. As their more experienced players return from injury, Afolayanka is confident that the strength their entire roster has shown will serve them well as they continue the season.

“I feel like, with Spring Break under [our] belts, I know [the season’s] building up to something bigger,” Afolayanka said. “Because of that, I’m really excited to put myself out there for Tufts. It makes me itch for a good game.”

The Red and Black square off against Tufts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, at the John Wood Memorial Tennis Courts. 

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

Alessandra Woo can be reached at aawoo@wesleyan.edu.