ITHACA, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's tennis team delivered a thrilling comeback victory in the Liberty League Semifinals, rallying past St. Lawrence for a 4-3 win at the Reis Tennis Center to earn a spot in tomorrow's championship final.
RPI found itself trailing early after a tightly contested doubles session. The Engineers won at No. 2 doubles behind a strong 6-2 victory from Kayla Wheeler and Victoria Sarabosing, but St. Lawrence claimed the other two matches to take the doubles point and 1-0 lead into singles play.
The Saints extended their advantage at the top of the lineup, winning at No. 1 singles to go ahead 2-0, leaving RPI needing a near-perfect finish across the remaining matches. The Engineers responded by winning four of the final five singles contests.
RPI's comeback began at No. 4 singles, where Sarabosing delivered a key straight-set win (6-1, 7-6). She battlled through a tight second-set tiebreak to secure the victory at No. 4.
At No. 3 singles, Gauri Muliyil fought through a three-set battle, bouncing back after dropping the second set to claim a 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory. Soon after, Neha Saraswatula added another crucial point at No. 6 singles, overcoming a first-set loss to win 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, tying the overall match.
The deciding point came at No. 2 singles in one of the most dramatic matches of the day. Wheeler battled through a back-and-forth contest, forcing a third set after splitting the opening two (6-1, 1-6) before prevailing in a tense super tiebreak, 8-6, to clinch the victory for the Engineers.
The win advances RPI to Sunday's championship match, which will feature the Engineers and Vassar at 1:00 pm.