NEW HAVEN, Conn. –
In unprecedented times, Yale University Athletics is rallying together as One Bulldog Nation. While the health and safety of everyone must be at the forefront of every decision, Yale Athletics celebrates the outstanding accomplishments that our winter postseason-qualifying teams and spring programs have made this season. Next up, women's tennis.
In her second stint as the Swensen-McMahon Head Coach of the Bulldogs,
Danielle Lund McNamara has returned the Yale women's tennis team to national and Ivy League prominence. That shouldn't come as a surprise. The first time around she guided Yale to four Ivy League Championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and four ECAC Indoor Team Championships in eight seasons.
The Bulldogs were in the midst of memorable 2019-20 season before it was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 public health threat. Earlier this spring, Yale moved into the ITA National rankings (No. 35) for the first time since 2004. The Bulldogs were 9-3 overall with a number of impressive wins when the season was stopped.
"The 2019-20 season has so many positives to build off of for future years, both as a team and for many of our individual players," Lund McNamara said. "The silver lining for us this year is that we had no seniors, and we will get a chance to be back together again for another opportunity to finish the goals we set out to accomplish, which we are very grateful for. I'm very proud of how our team was progressing and growing as competitors with each match this season and I'm excited about what the future has in store for our players and our program."
The list of accomplishments is long and started in the fall when the doubles team of
Jessie Gong and
Samantha Martinelli captured the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa in October, winning a thrilling final 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. The duo became the first Ivy League women in either singles or doubles to win the title. Harvard's James Blake is the only male Ivy Leaguer to accomplish the feat.
Also in the fall,
Caroline Dunleavy reached the semifinals in singles at the ITA Northeast Regionals. In addition, Dunleavy teamed with first year
Rhea Shrivastava to advance to the final of the ITA Northeast Regionals in doubles.
The success carried over to the spring. The Bulldogs knocked off Penn and UMass to reach to the finals of the ECAC Indoor Championship. In a thrilling final that lasted nearly four hours and wasn't decided until the third set of the final match, Yale fell to Columbia.
The Bulldogs also had a very strong showing at the Blue Gray National Classic in Alabama, finishing third in the prestigious event by posting victories over Auburn and Alabama.
In the dual match portion of the spring schedule, Yale posted impressive wins over Indiana and Marshall.
Throughout the year, the Bulldogs were well represented in the ITA individual rankings. The doubles team of Gong and Martinelli was ranked as high as No. 3, while in singles Martinelli was consistently in the top 50, and first year
Chelsea Kung concluded the fall ranked in the top 100.
With all set to return, the future is very bright for the Bulldogs.
