THE BASICS:
 
- Scores: No. 11 MIT 5, Whitman College 0
 
- Records: MIT (17-3), Whitman (17-8)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (DuPont Tennis Courts)
 
- The Lead: Recipients of a first-round bye, No. 11 MIT opened up the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship by picking up a 5-0 win over Whitman College on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Engineers advance to the regional final for the third year in a row and the eighth time in program history.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- MIT took a 3-0 lead after doubles. Junior Jay Lu (Austin, Texas) and first-year Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) claimed the first point of the day as they won 8-1 against Illina Jha and Sascha Wells in the No. 3 slot. Sophomores Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) followed in the top slot registering an 8-4 decision versus Arianna Castellanos and Teleya Blunt. First-year Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.) and senior Kimberly Liao (Commack, N.Y.) completed the sweep courtesy of an 8-5 victory over Jin Yu and Grace Carter.
 
- Lu extended the Engineers' lead following a 6-2, 6-0 win against Yu in the No. 3 singles position and then Samets clinched the match by defeating Julia Longpre, 6-0, 6-3, in the No. 6 spot.
 
- In the unfinished matches, first-year Katya Shepherd Johnson (Takoma Park, Md.) held a 7-5, 1-0 advantage over Blunt in the No. 1 slot while Liao led Jha, 6-2, 4-1, in the No. 2 spot. At No. 4 singles, Kolli won the first set, 6-1, but Castellanos had a 3-2 edge in the second set. Deshpande had a 6-2, 4-1 advantage against Erica Mock in the No. 5 position when the match was decided.
 
- This was the first meeting between both programs.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT will host No. 10 Middlebury College in the regional final on Sunday, May 12 at 12:00 p.m. This will be the first postseason match up between both teams since the Panthers defeated the Engineers in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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