LANCASTER, Pa. – Sophomore Amanda Vinges (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) stared down match-point twice in the third set and came out with a victory in a tiebreaker to cap an incredible comeback and lift Gettysburg College past Franklin & Marshall College 5-4 in the opening round of the Centennial Conference Championship at the Brooks Tennis Center Tuesday evening.
 
Gettysburg (12-7) secured its first-ever postseason victory and it took an improbable rally against a team it had lost eight consecutive decisions to heading into Tuesday's meeting. Franklin & Marshall (9-7), which had defeated the Bullets 6-3 just 13 days ago, surged out to a 2-0 lead with 8-5 victories at first and third doubles.
 
The Diplomats were on the verge of a doubles sweep with Emma Wu and Lauren Wang leading seniors Maddie Class (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and Maria Martinovic (Lawrence Township, N.J./Princeton Day School) 5-2 at No. 1. Playing their 23rd match as a tandem in their careers, the two Gettysburg seniors maintained their poise and wore down their foes, taking six of the next seven games to pull out an 8-6 victory.
 
The hosts added to the advantage at the start of singles play, winning two of the first three matches completed. Junior Ava Vanhelfteren (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury) kept the Bullets from elimination with a straight-set victory (6-3, 6-3) at No. 5.
 
Leading 4-2, Franklin & Marshall needed one final point to secure the win and earn its first trip to the CC semifinals. But with a rainbow filling the sky over the tennis courts, Gettysburg found its pot of gold as Class initiated the comeback with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Lauren Wang at the fourth flight.
 
The decision came down to junior Samantha Boardman (Greenwich, Conn./Brooks School) and Vinges and both Bullets had something to prove against foes who swept them both less than two weeks ago. Boardman broke out for a 6-2 win in the opening set against Wu at No. 4, but the Diplomat senior won by the same count in the second set. Boardman came right back to grind out a 7-5 decision in the third set to tie the match 4-4.
 
Gavriel Rubenstein defeated Vinges 6-3, 6-2 at third singles in their last meeting, but the Gettysburg sophomore established a different tone with a 7-6 (7-2) decision in the opening set Tuesday. Rubenstein raced to a 6-1 win in the second frame to set the stage for an epic third-set showdown.
 
Twice Vinges faced match-point at 5-4 and 6-5, and twice she broke Rubenstein's serve to force another tiebreaker. After surrendering the opening point, Vinges ran off the next five points to assume control and closed with a 7-6 (7-2) win.
 
Gettysburg became just the second No. 5 seed to win a match in the CC Championship and it was just the second 5-4 decision in playoff history. Johns Hopkins University defeated Swarthmore College 5-4 in the 2007 finals. With 12 wins on the year, the Bullets have logged their best win total in 21 years.
 
Waiting in the semifinals is 12-time conference champion and 14th-ranked Johns Hopkins (14-2). The Blue Jays will host the Bullets Saturday at 11 a.m.
  
Gettysburg 5, Franklin and Marshall 4
4/30/2019 at Lancaster, Pa. (Brooks Tennis Courts)
Singles competition
1. Allison Wolters (FMCW) def. Maria Martinovic (GC) 6-0, 6-1
2. Amanda Vinges (GC) def. Gavriel Rubenstein (FMCW) 7-6 (7-2), 1-6, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Samantha Boardman (GC) def. Emma Wu (FMCW) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
4. Maddie Class (GC) def. Lauren Wang (FMCW) 6-3, 7-5
5. Ava Vanhelfteren (GC) def. Alex D'Angelo (FMCW) 6-3, 6-3
6. Marissa Witmer (FMCW) def. Alexis Rinker (GC) 6-3, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Gavriel Rubenstein/Allison Wolters (FMCW) def. Samantha Boardman/Amanda Vinges (GC) 8-5
2. Maria Martinovic/Maddie Class (GC) def. Emma Wu/Lauren Wang (FMCW) 8-6
3. Caroline Ulrich/Marissa Witmer (FMCW) def. Ava Vanhelfteren/Shaye Barnes (GC) 8-5
 
Match Notes
Gettysburg 12-7
Franklin and Marshall 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,1,4,3,2)
Centennial Conference Championship First Round
Gettysburg will face No. 14 Johns Hopkins in CC semis Saturday at 11 a.m.
T-4:30 A-55