MADISON, Wis. — Beth Larson won the No. 1 singles title and teamed with Jenni Roesch to win the No. 1 doubles title to lead the Lawrence University women’s tennis team at the Midwest Conference Championships this weekend.
Christina Schaupp took home the No. 4 singles title for the Vikings as well.
Larson capped a stellar career with her second title at No. 1 singles. She also took the crown back in 2008. Larson started with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Knox’s Megan Funk in the quarterfinals and she then defeated Grinnell’s Sadhana Athreya 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.
Larson rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Carroll’s Abigail Pellett in the championship match.
Schaupp, a freshman, didn’t drop a game en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ripon’s Chloe Piepho in the quarterfinals at No. 4 singles. Schaupp followed that with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Carroll’s Erin Bowman in the semifinals. Schaupp then wrapped up her first conference title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Clothilde Thirouin of Grinnell.
Larson and Roesch repeated as the conference’s No. 1 doubles title, and that marks the first time Lawrence has won back-to-back titles at No. 1 doubles since 1985-86.
Larson and Roesch opened with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Beloit’s Taylor Jones and Courtney Yates in the quarterfinals. Larson and Roesch then won a hard-fought battle over Carroll’s Alyssa Larson and Kate Rasmussen 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Larson and Roesch posted an impressive 6-0, 6-4 win over Athreya and Laura Krull of Grinnell in the championship match.
Schaupp and Hannah Geoffrey reached the title match at No. 3 doubles but dropped a 6-4, 6-0 decision to Toby Cain and Shirlene Luk of Grinnell. At No. 2 doubles, Lawrence’s Polly Dalton and Carla Schmidt were eliminated in the semifinals.
Geoffrey posted a pair of victories to reach the championship match at No. 5 singles but dropped a tough 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 decision to Grinnell’s Hanna Feldman.
In the other singles flights, Roesch beat Dana Pierce of Knox to win the consolation final at No. 2, and Dalton defeated Ripon’s Olivia Wetzel in the consolation final at No. 6. Gayatri Malhotra lost in the consolation final at No. 3 singles.
Lawrence finished third in the team standings based on the Vikings’ finish at the team championship on Friday. The Vikings finished with 66 points during the singles and doubles competition, and that was second to Grinnell’s 96.