FREDERICKSBURG, VA (May 28, 2010) – Following a tough three-set win in the first round of the NCAA Division III Singles Championships, Vassar College women's tennis senior Nicole Pontee found herself matched up with the No. 1 seed in the Round of 16. Unfazed, the unseeded Pontee advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Liz Lewis of Chapman University on Friday at the University of Mary Washington.

"Nicole's penetrating ground stokes and ability to take the ball so early allowed her to dictate play throughout her matches," said head coach Kathy Campbell. "She 'weathered the storms' very well in both matches today when her opponents fought back.  Nicole continued to to play aggressively to utilize her all-court game coming to the net on some key points. She moved her opponents well and opened the court for many winners and she returned serve extremely well in both matches."

In her third appearance at the NCAA Singles Championships, this is the second time Pontee has moved on to the quarterfinals. She also accomplished the feat in 2008, falling to Megan McCooey of Tufts University, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

In the round of 16 on Friday, Pontee took on the tournament's No. 1 seed, and the No. 1 ranked player in the West region in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, but Pontee, the No. 6 player in the Northeast pulled off the upset, improving her season record to 27-3 with the 6-4, 7-5 win over Lewis, who went 22-0 in Division III this season and won the ITA Small College National Singles title in the fall.

"In the round of 16, both players exchanged hard, deep ground strokes with Nicole returning exceptionally well throughout to keep relentless pressure on Liz's service games," said Campbell. 

After Pontee broke Lewis' serve with the score tied 4-4 in the first set, Pontee held on for the 6-4 win. In the second set, Pontee took the early 3-0 lead, but Lewis came back to eventually take a 5-4 lead.

"Nicole remained focused and composed and kept going for her shots continuing to get Lewis off balance and opening the court," explained Campbell. "She won the next three games to clinch the set 7-5.  Again, she won some key points at the net selecting just the right ball to come in on."

Pontee will play No. 8 seeded Grace Baljon of Williams College, which won its third straight National Team Championship yesterday, on Saturday in the quarterfinals at 9:00 a.m. Pontee has fared well against the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship in the past, upsetting the No. 8 seed in the opening round as an unseeded sophomore, and doing the same in the round of 16 as a junior, again as an unseeded player. However, Pontee faces a stiff test in Baljon, the No. 3 player in the Northeast, ranked No. 11 nationally at the end of last season. Pontee is 0-2 against Baljon in her career, dropping a regular season match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, this season, and a 7-5, 6-3 decision in the second round of last year's NCAA Team Championship. National singles rankings for the 2009-10 season will not be released until June, but Pontee concluded last season No. 12 nationally while Baljon was No. 11. In a clear indication of the strength of the region that both Pontee and Baljon play in, seven of tomorrow's eight quarterfinalists are from the Northeast.

The round of 16 matchup was the third career meeting between Pontee and Lewis with Pontee gaining the 2-1 edge. Vassar played Chapman during its Spring Break trip to California in 2008 and 2009. As a sophomore, Pontee fell to Lewis, 6-4, 6-4, but last season, Pontee avenged that loss with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Lewis was ranked No. 10 in last season's national poll.

Pontee started Friday with her third consecutive first round win, overcoming a first set loss to defeat Kathryn Schmidt of Carleton College, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 at the University of Mary Washington on Friday. In each of her wins in the opening round, Pontee went to three sets to accomplish the feat. As a sophomore, Pontee defeated Becky Morse-Karzen (University of Mary Washington), also after losing the first set, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, and last season defeated Megan Damico (Denison University), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. This year, Pontee dropped the first set, 7-5, to Schmidt, who is ranked No. 4 in the Central region, but Pontee recovered with a 6-3 second set win and a tight 7-5 clincher to advance and improve to 26-3 in singles this season.

"It was a match of 'peaks and valleys as Nicole established a commanding 5-1 lead only to have Katherine fight back using her extreme quickness and variety of shots and spins to clinch the first set and the first two games of the second set," explained Campbell. "The match lasted over two hours and Nicole utilized her mental toughness, composure and attacking game to pull her through the match."