![Batoshvili and Chulani end the year as All-Americans (and national champions)](/sports/wten/2021-22/photos/USTA1327650_20220525_NCAA_MDB00140_rotatoralt.jpg)
National Championship Season Concludes, as Athena Duo Falls in Doubles Quarterfinals
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Williams doubles team of Erica Ekstrand and Yuu Ishikawa had a big comeback in a first-set tiebreaker and carried the momentum through the second set as they captured a 7-6, 6-1 win over Alisha Chulani and Nikolina Batoshvili of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Doubles Championship at the USTA National Campus on Saturday.
Batoshvili and Chulani, who went 3-0 in doubles at nationals to help CMS capture its second NCAA title in program history, end their season with All-America honors and national championship rings, while Ekstrand and Ishikawa will advance to tomorrow's semifinals.
The match followed an eerily similar path to yesterday's win for the Athenas, until Williams flipped the script in the first-set tiebreaker. A day ago in an opening round match, CMS fought off two set points down 5-4 in the first against MIT's No. 1 doubles team, forced a tiebreaker, and dominated with seven straight points, before going on to a 7-6, 6-2 victory.
Against Williams, Batoshvili and Chulani once again fought off two set points down 5-4 in the first set, and once again dominated the tiebreaker early on, jumping out to 3-0 and 5-1 leads. However, Williams then rattled off the next six points to change the momentum and take a 7-5 tiebreaker win, and a 1-0 lead in sets.
Unfortunately for CMS, the match then followed the same script as yesterday, with the tiebreaker winner taking the momentum into the second set, as Williams jumped out to a 4-0 lead after its second service break. The CMS duo broke back to cut it to 4-1 and tried for one last momentum swing, but the Ephs were able to close it out for a 7-6, 6-1 win.
The loss ended the season for the Athenas, who also had Crystal Juan and Sydney Lee in the singles competition, where they both won their first matches and lost their second on Friday. The big prize, though, was captured on Wednesday, when CMS defeated Chicago 5-1 and brought home the gold trophy from the NCAA.
Juan and Lee will graduate with a national championship in their final dual, along with fellow seniors Sarah Bahsoun and Devon Wolfe, the team's No. 3 doubles combination at the end of the 2022 season. Batoshvili and Chulani's return at No. 1 will be key to the CMS hopes of a repeat next season, when they'll need to revamp their singles lineup, as Audrey Yoon (No. 3), Ella Brissett (No. 4) and Batoshvili (No. 5) are the only returnees from the top six that won the title.