Wellesley Tennis Dealt Setback by No. 9 Babson, 7-2

WELLESLEY, Mass. - No. 9 Babson (14-0 Overall, 8-0 NEWMAC) clinched the top seed in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) with a 7-2 win over Wellesley College tennis on Tuesday at Babson tennis courts.

The Blue (6-8 Overall, 5-2 NEWMAC) grabbed points at No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles against their top-ten opponent.

The Beavers were able to take the first two points at No. 1 and 3 doubles with matching scores of 8-3. The Beavers' No. 3 regionally ranked team of Sophomore Olivia Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and first year Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) defeated juniors Annissa Mu (Saratoga, Calif.) and Melinda Alviar (Indianapolis, Ind.) at No. 1 while junior Adéle Fernández (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and first year Elena Keitt (Austin, Texas) got the better of Wellesley junior Jennifer Fan (Vancouver, British Columbia) and first year Daniela Chiarini (Miami, Fla.).

No. 2 doubles came down to the wire. Neither team ever led by more than a game with the Blue's duo of first years Isabella DeAgazio (Winchester, Mass.) and Emilee Pak (Chicago, Ill.) standing tall against Babson junior Juliette Moschella (Little Silver, N.J.) and first year Kamila Stasiowska (Burlington, Conn.). It would be the Blue who ultimately prevailed, defeating Babson 8-7 in a tiebreaker to cut Babson's lead to 2-1 heading into singles. 

The Beavers were able to capture the three points needed to seal the match with straight set wins at No. 1, 2, and 6 singles. Soffer, the top ranked player in the Northeast Region, earned a 6-0, 6-3 win over Mu at No. 1 singles while Cristiani didn't drop a game to Alviar at No. 2. Junior Jane Wang (San Diego, Calif.) grabbed a 6-2, 6-0 win over Chiarini in the No. 6 singles match.

Stasiowska ran Babson' lead to 6-1 with a win over DeAgazio at No. 3. After a competitive first set that Babson won 7-6 in a tiebreaker, Stasiowska kicked her game into high gear, winning 6-1 in the second.

Fan gave the Blue their second point with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles against Babson first year Grace Starcher (Morristown, N.J.). 

The Beavers won the final match of the day in a three setter at No. 4 singles between Pak and Fernandez. After Fernandez took a 6-3 first set Pak flipped the script in a 6-3 second set to force a third set tiebreak, which went the way of Babson.

The Blue face Smith in a home NEWMAC match to finish their regular season on Saturday at 11:00 AM while the Beavers will await the release of NEWMAC women's tennis postseason draws to find out their next opponent.