BABSON PARK, Mass. – Victories at the No. 5, No. 4, and No. 3 singles positions helped nationally ranked No. 11 MIT come from behind to defeat No. 14 Babson College, 4-3, in NEWMAC women's tennis action on Friday. With the win, the Engineers remained undefeated in conference play with one match left. In addition, MIT broke the Beavers' 17-match home win streak and their 25 Division III match home win streak which dated back to 2019.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 11 MIT 4, No. 14 Babson 3
- Records: No. 11 MIT (12-2 Overall, 7-0 NEWMAC); No. 14 Babson (9-4 Overall, 3-2 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED - DOUBLES:
- Senior Olivia Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and junior Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) built a 4-1 lead in the No. 1 position, but juniors Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) narrowed the gap to 4-3. This was as close as it would get as Soffer and Cristiani captured the next two games.
- In the No. 2 spot, senior Jay Lu (Austin, Texas) and first-year Chloe Zeng (Austin, Texas) established a 4-1 advantage against sophomore Chaniel Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and first-year Alessandra Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador). An exchange of games followed until Lu and Zeng secured a 6-3 victory.
- Sophomores Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) and Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.) claimed the doubles point following a back-and-forth battle with sophomore Dana Kamal (Cairo, Egypt) and first-year Mia Sorrentino (Miami, Fla.) in the No. 3 slot. Knotted at 4-4, MIT broke Babson's serve and then won the next game to take a 1-0 edge heading into singles action.
HOW IT HAPPENED - SINGLES:
- Matia Cristiani tied the match at 1-1 by defeating Zeng, 6-0, 6-1, in the No. 2 position.
- At the top of the ladder, Olivia Soffer won three straight games to go up 5-2 in the opening set against first-year Fiona Lee (Ladera Ranch, Calif.). Lee picked up back-to-back victories, but Soffer held on for a 6-4 victory. Soffer went on to take the second set with a 6-1 score.
- The Beavers took a 3-1 lead after Kamal topped Samets, 6-2, 6-3, in the No. 6 spot.
- Kolli turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 advantage and held on for a 6-4 result against junior Kamila Stasiowska (Burlington, Conn.) in the first set at No. 5 singles. Kolli won the first four games of the second set, however, Stasiowska narrowed the gap to 4-3. Kolli replied with back-to-back victories, thwarting a comeback attempt.
- Deshpande tied the match at 3-3 courtesy of a 6-3, 6-3 win over Alessandra Cristiani in the No. 4 position.
- Tied at 3-3 in the No. 3 slot, Lu closed out the first set with three consecutive wins against Chaniel Soffer. In the second set Lu had a 4-3 edge, but Soffer took a 5-4 lead. Lu responded with three straight victories to clinch the match.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will travel to No. 13 Amherst College on Saturday, April 19 for either a 3:00 PM (indoors) or 5:30 PM (outdoors) start.
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