CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — First-year
Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) and junior
Dana Kamal (Cairo, Egypt) won matches at both doubles and singles, and Kamal posted the decisive victory at number six singles as No. 8 Babson College defeated No. 7 MIT, 4-1, in the championship match of the NEWMAC women's tennis tournament Sunday afternoon at the DuPont Tennis Courts.
With the victory, Babson (16-4) bounced back from a 4-3 loss to MIT in the regular season finale a week ago to capture its first conference championship since 2014015 and third in program history. MIT (16-3) had a nine-match winning streak snapped and saw its streak of eight straight NEWMAC tournament titles broken. Both teams are expected to receive NCAA Division III Tournament berths when the bracket is announced on Monday.
MIT drew first blood when first-year
Carley Chen (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore
Chloe Zeng (Austin, Texas) defeated sophomore
Alessandra Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and first-year
Elizabeth Shu (Sugar Land, Texas) at second doubles, 6-3. Babson evened the doubles score at 1-1 with a 7-5 victory by Kamal and senior
Grace Starcher (Morristown, N.J.) over first-year
Katie Driscoll (Easton, Conn.) and junior
Anastasia Samets (Ocean, N.J.) at number three.
The Beavers clinched the doubles point when Sikharulidze and senior
Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador), who are ranked third in Division III, registered a break in the final game to take a 7-5 decision over seniors
Alaina Kolli (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and
Artemis Pados (Delray Beach, Fla.) in the top doubles flight.
Sikharulidze extended the Babson lead to 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Zeng at number two singles. Shu and Chen traded straight-set singles wins for the two teams as Shu downed Driscoll at number three, 6-2, 6-2, and Chen knocked off first-year
Tina Liu (Plantation, Fla.) at number five, 6-3, 6-1, putting the Beavers up, 3-1.
Kamal (
right), who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, clinched the Babson victory with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over first-year Rayna Li (Dallas, Texas) at number six.
Babson held the lead in the remaining two matches when action was stopped, as
Matia Cristiani was up on junior
Saina Deshpande (Pune, India) at number one, 6-2, 5-4, and
Alessandra Cristiani led first-year
Sophia Yang (Irvine, Calif.) at number four, 7-5, 4-2.
The teams will learn their first-round opponents and sites when the NCAA tournament field is announced at 12:30 p.m. on Monday at 12 p.m. on ncaa.com.
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.