MIT Men's Tennis Blanks Emerson
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT's men's tennis team had no problems running its winning streak to six matches this afternoon as the 28th-ranked Engineers shutdown Emerson College by a 9-0 score. The victory improved MIT's record to 11-3, while Emerson fell to 4-5.
MIT's No. 1 doubles team of junior Matthew Skalak (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) and sophomore Edwin Zhang (Falls Church, Va.) had no problems in their match, taking an 8-1 decision. The No. 2 match was closer, with the Engineer duo of seniors Robert Wheeler (Denton, Texas) and Biafra Ahanonu (Tucson, Ariz.) winning by an 8-5 score. Emerson, which had only five available players, was forced to default the No. 3 match, putting MIT up 3-0 going into singles play.
Junior Troy Astorino (Laguna Hills, Calif.) took the first point in singles action, scoring a perfect 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4 over junior Nate Fuller (Rehoboth, Mass.). In the No 5 match freshman Jeffrey Sperling (Los Angeles, Calif.) was nearly as good in a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Junior Brian Oldfield (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) was impressive as well in the No. 2 match as he defeated sophomore Brent Walkoff (Bolton, Mass.) 6-1, 6-1.
Emerson junior Mitchell Lance (Tarrytown, N.Y.) battled back against sophomore Curtis Wu (Yorba Linda, Calif.) in their No. 3 match, but came up short in a 6-1, 7-5 decision. Junior Larry Pang (Torrance, Calif.) also fought off a challenge by a Lions player in the No. 1 match, holding off Kevin Blisniuk in the first set in a 7-5, 6-1 victory. Due to its lack of players, Emerson also had to default the No. 6 match.
MIT will return to NEWMAC play on Saturday when the Engineers host Wheaton College at 1:00 p.m. Emerson will host a match on Saturday as well as the Lions entertain Johnson and Wales at 3:00 p.m.
