TULSA, Ok. - A historic week for the Yale women's tennis team capped off with an exclamation point, as sophomore Jessie Gong and junior Samantha Martinelli were crowned champions of the ITA All-American Championships after winning a dramatic 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 match. 

Standing in their way were Tennessee's Tenika McGiffin and Kaitlin Staines, the No. 24 doubles team in the country according to the Oracle/ITA national rankings. McGiffin and Staines got off to a fast start, winning the first set 6-2. Gong and Martinelli dug in and won the second set 6-3 to level the match. In a tense super tiebreak, the two teams went back and forth before the two Bulldogs came up clutch at 9-8, clinching the set, match and championship. 

Gong and Martinelli provided Yale and the Ivy League with its first women's ITA All-American Championships in either singles or doubles.

This championship was the continuation of an excellent season for the Bulldogs No. 1 doubles team. Gong and Martinelli, currently at No. 29 in the Oracle/ITA national rankings, lead the nation in wins with ten, to go along with zero losses.

The duo will return next week for the ITA Regional Championship, which begins on Thursday. Full results for the entire ITA All-American Championship can be viewed here. 

THAT'S MATCH POINT @YaleWTennis!#ITAAllAmericans pic.twitter.com/iBZI32b2Ul

— ITA (@ITA_Tennis) October 13, 2019