Box Score CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – First-year
Chloe Zeng (Austin, Texas) helped capture the doubles point and then went on to clinch the match at No. 2 singles as No. 11 MIT defeated No. 27 Brandeis University, 6-1, in a non-conference women's tennis match on Thursday.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 11 MIT 6, No. 27 Brandeis 1
- Records: No. 11 MIT (1-0 Overall); No. 27 Brandeis (0-1 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED - DOUBLES:
- In the No. 3 spot, sophomores Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.) and Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) gave MIT the early lead as they rattled off five consecutive wins en route to a 6-2 decision over junior Nancy Zhang (Shanghai, China) and senior Cecilia Denis (Ardmore, Pa.).
- Zeng and senior Jay Lu (Austin, Texas) turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 victory against sophomore Chahana Budhbhatti (Ahmedabad, India) and senior Bhakti Parwani (Ahmedabad, India), claiming the doubles point in the No. 2 slot.
- Juniors Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) trailed junior Rebecca Suarez (New York, N.Y.) and sophomore Mandy Reyes (Manila, Philippines), 5-2, but came back to win the match, 7-5.
HOW IT HAPPENED - SINGLES:
- Kolli picked up the first point in the No. 4 position as she defeated Zhang, 6-4, 6-2.
- Lu gave the Engineers a 3-0 advantage courtesy of a 6-3, 6-1 decision against Budhbhatti in the No. 3 spot.
- Zeng secured the victory for MIT as she came from behind in both sets to defeat Parwani, 6-4, 6-3, in the No. 2 slot. Zeng won five straight games in the first set and then generated six consecutive victories in the second set.
- First-year Fiona Lee (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) battled Suarez for a 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 victory in the No. 1 position.
- Deshpande cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over senior Anastasia Sia (Thessaloniki, Greece) in the No. 5 spot.
- Samets fell to Reyes, 6-4, 4-6, 12-10, in a hard-fought match in the No. 6 slot.
UP NEXT:
- MIT resumes regular-season competition on Saturday, February 22 when it hosts No. 31 Vassar College at 11:00 AM.
- Brandeis continues it road trip on Monday, February 17 when it travels to Whittier College for a 6:00 PM (ET) match.
