COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr tennis team completed a comeback for the ages earlier Tuesday afternoon, as the Owls claimed a thrilling 5-4 win over Ursinus and crushed the Bears' playoff hopes in the process. It was the first win for Bryn Mawr over Ursinus since 2012, and with the victory, the Owls have collected their most Centennial Conference wins in a season since 2007.
The hosts claimed the opening point of the match with an 8-2 win at second doubles, but Bryn Mawr tied things up thanks to another tremendous performance from Amalia Parrish and Audrey Camacho at first doubles. The duo played very solidly at the top spot, never really giving their opponents any foothold in the match in an 8-2 win of their own. Ursinus took the final doubles point at third doubles, as Christina Xue and Libby Hemp battled hard but lost a tough 8-5 decision.
The Owls came roaring out of the gates in singles to take their first lead of the day, as both Parrish and Camacho claimed clean wins at first and second singles. Parrish was the first to finish, dominating her match en route to a 6-2, 6-0 win. Camacho was hot on her heels, wrapping up her match just a few minutes later with an equally impressive 6-1, 6-3 scoreline. With that, the Owls held a 3-2 lead with four matches left to go. However, Ursinus was playing for their playoff lives, and the Bears' third and fourth singles players really came through to push the hosts back out in front. Xue once again battled hard, but lost a 6-2, 6-2 decision, while Caroline Horvatits lost a tough 6-3, 6-3 match of her own to put the hosts within a point of claiming the match.
That left Bryn Mawr's task in the hands of Francesca Caramazza at fifth singles and Libby Hemp at sixth. First, someone needed to square the match back up, and that honor would go to Caramazza. Playing in a pair of beat up sneakers after discovering her tennis shoes were unavailable, Caramazza showed no signs of being thrown off. The junior made quick work of the first set, taking that frame by a 6-3 score. However, the second set proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Caramazza fell behind 1-4 in the set, but then she buckled down and started chipping away. Ultimately, Caramazza got things tied up at 6-6, sending the set into a tiebreak. Then, she sealed the deal, battling back from a 5-4 deficit in the tiebreaker to win three straight points and claim the win for the Owls in 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) fashion.
Those results left the match hanging in the balance of the result at sixth singles, where Libby Hemp was in a battle with Ursinus' Summer Burkholder. Hemp won the first set 7-5, but she too found herself trailing by quite the margin in the second set. Burkholder was able to stretch out to a 5-2 lead in the frame, leaving herself one game away from sending the match to a third set. Hemp went to work trying to stay alive, keeping the ball in play and forcing her opponent to earn every point the rest of the way. Her strategy and determination certainly paid off, as Hemp rattled off five straight games to come all the way back, stunning the Bears and sending the Owls into a raucous victory celebration thanks to her 7-5, 7-5 win.
Bryn Mawr will look to carry the positive vibes into their season finale on Saturday, as the Owls will close out the 2019 campaign at Swarthmore at 10:00 AM.
