CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 8 MIT claimed its eighth consecutive and 14th overall NEWMAC Women's Tennis Championship after defeating No. 3 seed and No. 15 Babson College, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore
Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.), who clinched both the semifinal and championship matches from the No. 6 singles position, was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player. This was the sixth consecutive time the Engineers defeated the Beavers in the title match.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 8 MIT 4, No. 15 Babson 2
- Records: No. 8 MIT (16-2 Overall); No. 15 Babson (14-6 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED - DOUBLES:
- After conceding the first game, sophomores Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) and Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.) won six in a row to defeat sophomore Dana Kamal (Cairo, Egypt) and first-year Mia Sorrentino (Miami, Fla.), 6-1, in the No. 3 slot.
- In a back-and-forth battle at the No. 2 position, sophomore Chaniel Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and first-year Alessandra Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) took a 4-3 edge against senior Jay Lu (Austin, Texas) and first-year Chloe Zeng (Austin, Texas). MIT replied by generating three consecutive victories to capture the doubles point.
- Juniors Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) won the first three games against senior Olivia Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and junior Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and later held a 5-3 lead. However, Babson battled back to tie the match at 5-5 before it was abandoned.
HOW IT HAPPENED - SINGLES:
- Matia Cristiani picked up the Beavers' first point of the day after a 6-1, 6-1 decision against Zeng in the No. 2 spot.
- Deshpande gave the Engineers a 2-1 edge courtesy of a 6-1, 6-1 win over Chaniel Soffer in the No. 4 slot.
- Olivia Soffer evened the match as she rattled off four consecutive victories in the second set, securing a 6-2, 6-3 victory against first-year Fiona Lee (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) in the No. 1 position.
- In the No. 5 spot, Kolli fought off junior Kamila Stasiowska (Burlington, Conn.) for a 6-4 win in the first set and generated six straight wins to take the second set, 6-1.
- Kamal built a 3-1 lead in the No. 6 slot, but Samets rallied for a 6-3 opening-set victory. In the second set, Kamal held a 5-3 advantage, however, Samets battled back to post a 7-5 win and clinch the championship match for the second year in a row.
- In the unfinished match at No. 3 singles, Alessandra Cristiani led Lu, 1-6, 6-4, 2-0.
UP NEXT:
- MIT now awaits the announcement of the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship field, which will be announced in a selection show on Monday, May 5 at 12:00 PM Eastern on www.ncaa.com.
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