Wong Breaks Record As Season Ends In First Round

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In the final match of her Husky career, senior Vanessa Wong fittingly broke the Washington career wins record, though it would not be enough to prolong Washington’s stay in the NCAA Championships. The 39th-ranked Huskies lost a 4-2 match this morning against 27th-ranked Baylor in the first round of the NCAA tourney, hosted by Texas A&M at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
 
It was as good a silver lining as the Huskies could have hoped for, as Wong defeated Isabella Harvison at the No. 1 singles spot, 7-5, 6-2, for win number 112 in her five seasons at UW. That broke a tie with 2001 alum Kristina Kraszewski for the top spot in school history.
 
The win also pulled the Huskies to within 3-2, after trailing 3-0. Hikaru Sato had also just notched a 6-3, 6-2 win over 108th-ranked Alicia Herrero Linana at the No. 2 spot. Washington was also in the mix for a point on court six, where Ashley Chang was early in a third set. But Baylor stopped the rally with a 6-4, 6-1 win on court No. 5.

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With a win in her final match as a Husky, Vanessa Wong gets her 112th career singles win, the new University of Washington record!

The ultimate winner ????#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/OpMahELBsm

— Washington Women’s Tennis (@UW_WTennis) May 6, 2022

 
As has been the case for much of the past month, the Huskies were scrapping to overcome a roster shortened by injuries. The Dawgs were down two singles starters today, sophomores Sarah-Maude Fortin and Yolanda Lin.
 
“Obviously, we started off really strong this season,” said Head Coach Robin Stephenson. “I’m really proud of our team. We qualified for indoors for the first time since 2011 and were ranked top-20 for a lot of the year. We had some injuries here down the stretch, but I thought our team did a really good job today in giving ourselves a chance. I thought Baylor was just a little bit better today. I’m just really proud of our team in the way we’ve continued to compete and fight in the face of adversity.”
 
Wong’s win today gives her 112 against just 40 defeats in her career, with three straight seasons of playing at the No. 1 singles spot. She also added 81 doubles wins, for 193 combined singles and doubles wins, which is also a UW record.
 
Baylor took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. In singles, the teams split the first sets, three apiece. Wong…