CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –
Saina Deshpande earned a spot on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America Singles Team for the first time in her career as announced by the organization on Wednesday. She collected the program's 18
th All-America Singles award and 24
th overall while the Engineers appeared on the list for the fifth year in a row.
The selection criteria for Division III All-Americans is the following: top eight seed in the NCAA singles tournament, win one round at the NCAA singles tournament, finish in the Top 20 in the final ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, win ITA Fall Regional Tournament, or win a first-round match at the ITA National Small College Championships (ITA Cup).
Competing in the 2026 NCAA Division III Singles Championship last month, Deshpande defeated No. 2 seed Maegan Deng of Redlands, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round. She then fell to Lia Melvin of Johns Hopkins, 7-5, 6-2, in the second round.
The All-America honor comes after Deshpande was named the ITA Northeast Region Most Improved Player.
For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on
Facebook,
Instagram,
X, and
YouTube.