Gambier, Ohio – DePauw and Kenyon battled and traded leads in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship Finals on Saturday but Kenyon scored three late victories for a 5-4 win.
34th-ranked and No. 2 seed Kenyon (12-9) took an early 2-1 lead after capturing the top two doubles matches. DePauw's Megan Galle and Sarah Wilder won 8-4 in the No. 3 flight. Seniors Maddie Lee and Gretchen Wilder took their No. 1 match to a tiebreaker but lost 9-8 (7-1).
The 26th-ranked and No. 1 seed Tigers (15-7) then rattled off three consecutive wins in singles action. At No. 6 Megan Galle took a 6-1, 6-1 win; at No. 4 Alyssa Seneviratne won 6-0, 6-3; and at No. 3 Ali Bush won 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Things went Kenyon's way after that taking in order No. 1, No. 5 and No. 2. Lee lost in a second set tiebreaker 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) at No. 1.
The remaining two matches went to three sets. Colleen Morris fell at the No. 5 flight 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-0), and Gretchen Wilder lost at the No. 2 flight 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
The loss puts DePauw at 15-7 overall.
