Blue Tennis Finishes Fall as NEWMAC Runner-Up
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Top-seeded MIT captured the NEWMAC Women's Tennis Championship for the second year in a row, posting a 5-1 victory over second-seeded Wellesley College on Sunday. The Engineers will now represent the NEWMAC in the 2014 NCAA Championships.
MIT won its fifth overall title in the 16-year history of the event. The Engineers wrap up the fall portion of their season with a perfect 11-0 record, while Wellesley's season record moves to 9-3.
The Engineers took control early, holding a 2-1 lead after doubles play. At second doubles, Elysa Kohrs and Victoria Tam put MIT up 1-0 with an 8-1 victory over Wellesley's Andjela Stojkovic and Lina Ye. The Engineers then pushed it to 2-0 with an 8-4 victory over Wellesley's Kendall Tada and Samantha Stone.
Wellesley got on the board in the first doubles position, where Sojung Lee and Carina Chen picked up an 8-4 victory over MIT's Lauren Quisenberry and Julia Hsu.
In singles, Wellesley grabbed early advantages in the first set at one, three, and five, while MIT held leads at two, four and six. MIT was able to regain control on the odd singles courts, winning each of the first sets, 7-5, while on the evens, Wellesley grabbed the first set at two, but MIT won the first set at both four and six.
Ahead a set in five out of the six matches on court, MIT grabbed all the points it needed with wins at four, five, and six. A win at six singles gave the Engineers a 3-1 match lead, with Vynnie Kong topping Wellesley's Tada, 6-0, 6-0, while at five, Krystal Lai polished off Stone, 7-5, 6-0, for a 4-1 lead.
Wendi Kong's fourth flight victory was the match-deciding point, as she topped Wellesley's Lina Ye, 6-2, 6-2.
When the match was called, MIT's Quisenberry and Tam were both ahead in their matches, while Wellesley's Chen was ahead in hers.
2013 NEWMAC Women's Tennis Championship
Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Victoria Tam, MIT
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, October 23 at higher seed:
#3 Wheaton defeats #6 Springfield, 5-0 | Boxscore
#4 Babson defeats #5 Mount Holyoke, 5-0 | Boxscore
Semifinals: Saturday, October 26 Hosted by Wellesley College:
#1 MIT defeats #4 Babson, 5-0 | Boxscore
#2 Wellesley defeats #3 Wheaton, 5-0 | Boxscore
Championship: Sunday, October 27 Hosted by Wellesley College:
#1 MIT defeats #2 Wellesley, 5-0 | Boxscore