Department of athletics, physical education and recreation

• MIT Home
• DAPER Home

Varsity Athletics

Oct. 28, 2007

WELLESLEY, Mass. - In its fourth consecutive NEWMAC Women's Tennis Championship meeting against host and top-seed Wellesley College, No. 2 MIT fell to the Blue by a 5-2 margin on Sunday afternoon. The Engineers (8-3) advanced to the title match following a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Babson College in the semifinal round.

Wellesley got on the board with an 8-0 win by Trish Devine and Hali Walther in the No. 2 doubles spot. MIT evened the contest on Leslie Hansen and Mariah Hoover's 8-3 decision in the top slot. The Blue regained the lead following an 8-4 victory in the final doubles match.

Wellesley extended its advantage after Jenny Kendall defeated Anisa McCree, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 6 position. The Engineers cut their deficit in half (3-2) with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 1 slot. The Blue pulled within one point of claiming the title when Devine edged out Liz Denys, 6-2, 6-4. Shivani Saxena outlasted Hoover, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, to capture Wellesley's fourth consecutive NEWMAC Championship.

In its semifinal pairing with Babson, MIT took a 2-1 lead after doubles play and then won three out of the four singles matches to secure its sixth straight finals bid. The Engineers' top tandem of Hansen and Hoover cruised to an 8-2 win while Karina Pikhart and Melissa Diskin paired up for an 8-6 decision. In the No. 2 position, Jessica Huang and Kali Hogan outlasted McCree and Denys, 9-7.

The Beavers knotted the match at two after a 6-0, 6-0 decision in the No. 4 slot. MIT countered with victories by Hansen (6-1, 6-3), Denys (6-1, 6-0), and Diskin (6-4, 6-1) to seal the match.

NEWMAC Championship: No. 2 MIT vs. No. 1 Wellesley College
Final Team Score: Wellesley 5, MIT 2

Doubles
1. Leslie Hansen/Mariah Hoover (M) def. Schwarzkopf/Shen (W), 8-3
2. Devine/Hali Walther (W) def. Anisa McCree/Liz Denys (M), 8-0
3. Stubblebine/Saxena (W) def. Karina Pikhart/Melissa Diskin (M), 8-4

Singles
1. Leslie Hansen (M) def. Schwarzkopf (W), 6-3, 6-2
2. Devine (W) def. Liz Denys (M), 6-2, 6-4
3. Saxena (W) def. Mariah Hoover (M), 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
4. Shen (W) vs. Yi Wang (M), Halted (6-1, 4-6, 2-1)
5. Stubblebine (W) vs. Melissa Diskin (M), Halted (6-3, 5-7, 0-3)
6. Jenny Kendall (W) def. Anisa McCree (M), 6-3, 6-3

NEWMAC Semifinal: No. 2 MIT vs. No. 3 Babson College
Final Team Score: MIT 5, Babson 2

Doubles
1. Leslie Hansen/Mariah Hoover (M) def. Walsh/Farrell (B), 8-2
2. Huang/Hogan (B) def. Anisa McCree/Liz Denys (M), 9-7
3. Karina Pikhart/Melissa Diskin (M) def. Becerra/Jamie Burke (B), 8-6

Singles
1. Leslie Hansen (M) def. Courtney Farrell (B), 6-1, 6-3
2. Liz Denys (M) def. Kali Hogan (B), 6-1, 6-0
3. Mariah Hoover (M) vs. Heather Walsh (B), Halted
4. Jessica Huang (B) def. Yi Wang (M), 6-0, 6-0
5. Melissa Diskin (M) def. Lorena Becerra (B), 6-4, 6-1
6. Anisa McCree (M) vs. Liz Sheerin (B), Halted