LEXINGTON, Va. --- The 22nd-ranked Washington and Lee women's tennis team prevailed by a 5-2 score over N.C. Wesleyan in the NCAA First Round on Saturday to begin its 2023 tournament run.
 
The Generals (19-6) claimed the first two points of the match in doubles. First-years Riho Iijima (Portland, Ore. / Westview) and Grace Lorenz (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Epic Charter Schools) won by an 8-3 score at No. 2, followed by the same score at No. 3 from first-years Lauren Long (Carmel, Ind. / Park Tudor) and Isabella Custard (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal).
 
The Battling Bishops (12-10) got on the board at No. 1 doubles to cut the score in half, as Kristal Dule and Cristina Mendoza outlasted juniors Margaret Carlton (Matthews, N.C. / Charlotte Christian) and Izzy Koziol (Wilton, Conn. / Wilton), 8-6.
 
W&L closed in on the team win with individual victories from Lorenz (6-1, 6-3) at No. 3 and Iijima (6-4, 6-4) at No. 4. However, the Bishops caught momentum with a win from Elisa Mariotti at No. 2, while also being up a set each at No. 1 and leading in the third set at No. 6.
 
Carlton, who downed Bethan Fothergill, 6-3, in the first set at No. 5, trailed by a 4-2 score in the second set. She then went on a run and, shortly after Mariotti's team point at No. 2, won her fourth consecutive game to close things out.
 
The Generals advance to the NCAA Second Round on Saturday at 10:00 am, where they will host No. 7 Emory.