CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Babson College senior Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and first-year Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) both won a pair of singles matches and combined for another victory in doubles at the NCAA Division III Singles and Doubles Championships on Friday. 

MIT senior Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) won her first match before falling in the second round of singles competition. In the first round against No. 2 seed Maegan Deng of Redlands, Deshpande trailed 3-2 but battled back to claim a 6-3 victory in the first set. She carried the momentum into the second set as she went on to record a 6-0 decision.
 
In the second round versus Lia Melvin of Johns Hopkins, Deshpande turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 advantage. However, Melvin battled back to take the opening set, 7-5. Melvin raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Deshpande took the next game. After trading the next two games, Melvin fought off Deshpande to capture a 6-2 victory.
 
Cristiani, who is the top seed, and Sikharulidze both advanced to the quarterfinals of the 32-player singles draw. The Beavers’ duo also reached the quarterfinals in the doubles bracket and won all five of their matches on Friday in straight sets. 
 
Cristiani picked up a pair of hard-fought triumphs in singles beginning with a 6-3, 7-5 first round result against senior Katalina Wang (Venetia, Pa.) of Case Western Reserve. Cristiani had her serve broken twice before erasing a 3-1 deficit in the opening set, and then rallied from 4-0 down in the second to close out the win. Wang held serve to regain a 5-3 edge before Cristiani won 17 of the final 20 points in the match, which included recording a pair of service breaks, to close things out. 
 
Cristiani got off to a strong start in her second round match and defeated senior Izabele Antanavicius (Villanova, Pa.) of Emory 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in her career. She won the first four games of the opening set and back-to-back deuce points with the second set tied at 4-4 to end the match and improve to 34-0 on the year.
 
Sikharulidze was terrific in her NCAA Championships debut, knocking off third-seeded Lindsay Eisenman (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) 6-2, 6-2 in round one and sophomore Clara Zou (Potomac, Md.) of Chicago 6-1, 6-4 in the second round. She broke Eisenman’s serve four straight times to end the first and won consecutive games with the second set deadlocked at 2-2.
 
Sikharulidze and Zou met for the second time in the span of five days after Monday’s match in the team quarterfinals went unfinished with Babson defeating the Maroons 4-0. Sikharulidze raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first and then held serve to take a 5-4 lead in the second before breaking Zou’s serve to complete the victory.

Cristiani and Sikharulidze, who earned the top seed in the doubles draw, concluded the day with a 6-3, 6-1 win over junior Addison Felts (Norfolk, Va.) and sophomore Natalie Kim (Centreville, Va.) of Mary Washington in the first round. Felts and Kim led 3-2 midway through the first set before Cristiani and Sikharulidze won four straight games to end the first and 10 of 11 to close the match.
 
Cristiani will face eighth-seeded Elsie Van Wieren of Middlebury and Sikharulidze is set to take on Lauren Long of Washington & Lee in Saturday’s singles quarterfinals beginning at 11 a.m. Following singles, they will face Mandy Reyes and Rebecca Suarez of Brandeis in the doubles quarterfinals.

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.