| Lake Forest College Sports Information
October 17, 2003 Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID Lake Forest Claims 2003 Midwest Conference Championship
There were just three courts available for each match and Lake Forest took the early lead over Ripon, who defeated the Foresters 5-4 on October 3. Freshmen Greer Stenbreg (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) and Madeline Harris (Wooster, OH/Wooster) were defeated at number one doubles but sophomore Brittany Richardson (Little Rock, AR/Central) and freshman Anastasia Rukovskaya (Buffalo Grove, IL/Buffalo Grove) teamed up for a 7-5, 6-3 win at number two and freshmen Kendal Wapotish (McHenry, IL/McHenry) and Emily Bell (Chicago, IL/San Francisco Univ. H.S.) triumphed 6-2, 6-4 at number three. Ripon took the lead with victories over Stenberg at number one singles and Rudkovskaya at number three, but Richardson and sophomore Jill Chudacoff (Highland Park, IL/Highland Park) helped Lake Forest regain the edge with wins at numbers two (4-6, 6-2, 6-2) and four (6-0, 6-0), respectively. The Red Hawks tied the contest at 4-4 with a victory over senior Abbey Jennings (Logan, OH/Logan) at number six and the match was left in the hands of Harris, the team's number five player, who was in the middle of her second set at the time. She won the first set 6-2 but fell 6-4 in the second. With everyone from both teams watching, Harris prevailed in the third set 6-4 to give Lake Forest the victory. The semifinals, which began at 9:00 in the morning, finally ended at approximately 3:05 p.m., more than two hours after the championship match was scheduled to begin. Grinnell, who knocked off the Foresters 7-2 four weeks ago, defeated Carroll College 5-0 in its semifinal hours earlier and was well-rested before the battle for the team title started at 3:30. Richardson and Rudkovskaya won again (1-6, 6-4, 7-5) at number two doubles but Lake Forest trailed Grinnell 3-1 after losses at number one doubles (Stenberg and Harris) and numbers one (Stenberg) and three (Rudkovskaya) singles. Wapotish and Bell finally pulled the Foresters to within a point with their grueling 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 victory at number three doubles and Chudacoff tied the score with her 6-2, 6-3 win at number four singles. Richardson fell at number two singles but a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at number six by Jennings once again put the outcome in the hands of Harris, who had just begun play at number five singles. After taking the first set 6-2, Harris fell 6-1 in the second. Her 6-2 win in the third secured Lake Forest's improbable championship at approximately 10:15 p.m. The team finished the season with an 8-7 record and the league title is its first since 1999. Lake
Forest - Ripon Match Results
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