NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College women's tennis team is one step closer to successfully defending its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship, as the top-seeded Lyons notched a hard-fought 5-3 victory over fourth seed Babson College during Saturday's semifinal round at Smith College.

Wheaton, which is ranked 10th in the region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), ran its winning streak to nine matches while improving to 11-1.  The Lyons advance to tomorrow's final to take on second-seeded Wellesley College at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of last year's title contest.  Babson fell to 8-4 with the loss.

Regionally-ranked seniors Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, Calif./Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, N.H./Central) improved to a perfect 12-0 in dual matches with an 8-4 victory in the top doubles spot, while senior Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, Mass./Manchester Essex Regional) and junior Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, R.I./Lincoln School) cruised to an 8-1 triumph at number three.

Freshmen Lyndsay Cooke (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield Christian) and Madison Hartley (Charlotte, Vt./Rice Memorial) suffered the first dual-match loss of their young careers with an 8-4 setback in the second position.

The Lyons pushed out to a 4-1 advantage following a pair of decisive singles victories, as Teague blanked her opponent at one while Cooke won 6-1, 6-0 at three.  Babson pushed back with wins in the second and fifth spots before Van Faasen cinched the team victory with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph at number six.

In the fourth singles slot, DiOrio was down a set to senior Monica Mercer (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville).  DiOrio lost 7-6 in a tiebreaker and was leading 6-5 in the second set when the match was decided.

Wheaton is seeking a second straight automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.  During the regular season, the Lyons recorded a 7-2 win over Wellesley.