CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 9 MIT kicked off the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship by defeating No. 31 The College of New Jersey, 4-0, on Saturday in the J.B. Carr Tennis Bubble. With the win, the Engineers earned a spot in the regional final for the seventh consecutive season.
 
Katie Driscoll and Anastasia Samets jumped out to a 5-1 lead before going on to defeat Elizabeth Ring and Gabriella Robinson, 6-2, in the No. 3 position.

Alaina Kolli and Artemis Pados claimed the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Zoey Albert and Shruti Mannan in the top spot.

Eleni Dakos and Gabrielle Brideau led Carley Chen and Chloe Zeng, 4-3, when the match was abandoned.

Driscoll defeated Brideau, 6-2, 6-1, in the No. 3 singles slot.

Facing a 4-3 deficit to Albert in the No. 2 singles spot, Zeng rallied for a 6-4 win to capture the first set. Zeng then built a 4-1 advantage en route to a 6-2 decision in the second set.

After trading games to open the match at No. 1 singles, Saina Deshpande won four in a row to build a 5-2 lead before topping Dakos, 6-3. In the second set, Deshpande won the final four games to post a 6-3 victory and clinch the match for MIT.

For the abandoned matches, Sophia Yang led Mannan, 6-0, 6-5 in the No. 4 position, Chen and Robinson were tied 3-3 in the first set at No. 5 singles, and Rayna Li led Ring, 3-0, in the No. 6 slot.

MIT will play No. 11 Bowdoin College in the third round of the NCAA Championship on Sunday, May 10 at 12:00 PM.

This is the third postseason meeting between the two teams. The Engineers defeated the Polar Bears, 5-3, in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Championship. Bowdoin, meanwhile, topped MIT, 4-0, in last year's third round.

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.