Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Wellesley's Markwart, Shen Named NEWMAC Tennis Doubles Team of the Week

Markwart (left) and Shen (right) went 2-0 in doubles during the week (Frank Poulin).

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College tennis sophomores Michaela Markwart (Hanover, Mass.) and Michelle Shen (Dallas, Texas) have been named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's tennis Doubles Team of the Week for the week ending March 1, 2020. The honor is the first NEWMAC Weekly Award for each student-athlete.

Wellesley's No. 2 doubles team earned back-to-back victories in a 1-1 week for the Blue. Markwart and Shen opened with an 8-3 victory over Renee Karchere-Sun and Jessica Ampel of No. 17 Skidmore in a 6-3 Blue setback on Saturday. The Wellesley duo added another 8-3 win in the team's next match on Sunday, downing Brenda Peng and Sanjana Surapaneni as Wellesley captured its first win of the season, 6-3, over RPI. In addition to the victory in doubles, Markwart earned a victory over RPI's Alex Mednikova, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, in singles play. Mednikova is currently no. 49 in the ITA singles rankings.

Wellesley (1-2 overall) returns home for a pair of matches next weekend at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The Blue will host No. 27 Bates on Saturday, March 7, at 12:00 PM and No. 10 Brandeis on Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 PM.

The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference consists of 11 highly selective institutions committed to academic excellence: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.