(Story courtesy of Babson Athletics) 

BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Babson College men's tennis trio of senior Alexander Merson (Palisades Park, N.J.) and sophomores Sebastian Mendoza (Weston, Fla.) and Edward Wang (Burr Ridge, Ill.) added to their postseason awards haul when they officially earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III All-America recognition late last week. 

Merson became just the third player in program history and first since 2020 to garner ITA All-America singles accolades, while Mendoza and Wang are the first players in school history to be recognized as All-Americans in doubles. 

Merson, who joined David Weisman '98 (1997, 1998) and Markus Nordby '21 (2020) as singles All-Americans, finished the 2025-26 campaign with an overall record of 19-3, which included a 13-1 mark in dual matches and 11 wins at number one singles. He became the first in program history to advance to the semifinals of the ITA New England singles championship back in October and earned the Beavers' first spot in the NCAA singles championship since 1998. 

Merson, who was selected as the NEWMAC Player of the Year, finished the year at No. 11 in the ITA Division III singles ranking and defeated a pair of top-10 opponents and five top-50 foes. Additionally, his 19 singles victories are tied for second on the Beavers' single-season list.   

In two seasons at Babson after transferring from Brandeis University, Merson went 37-8 in singles and 39-13 in doubles while earning a pair of all-conference accolades in both disciplines. He is tied for ninth on the program's all-time list in singles victories and tied for 10th with 76 combined wins.

Mendoza and Wang put together a record-setting season that included a school record for wins, Babson's first ITA New England Championships title in doubles, and the program's first appearance at the ITA Cup. The duo, which ended the year ranked 18th by the ITA, went 27-7 overall and defeated 11th-ranked Nicholas Chen and Simon Volkema of Williams in the ITA New England Championships final before rallying to edge the eighth-ranked duo of Jayanth Mallampati and Drew Goldman of Pomona-Pitzer to advance to the semifinals of the ITA Cup back in October. 

Mendoza and Wang, who both earned All-NEWMAC honors in doubles for the second year in a row, won nine of their final 10 matches as the Beavers captured their second consecutive conference title and second straight NCAA Tournament berth. 

After just two seasons, Mendoza is already tied for fifth on Babson's all-time list with 49 doubles wins, while Wang is seventh with 45 career doubles victories. 

The selection criteria for Division III All-Americans is the following: top 8 seed in the NCAA singles tournament, win one round at the NCAA singles tournament, finish in the Top 20 in the final ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, win ITA Fall Regional Tournament, or win a first-round match at the ITA National Small College Championships (ITA Cup). All-American honors are awarded to doubles teams that are a top 4 seed in NCAA doubles tournament, win one round at the NCAA doubles tournament, finish in the Top 10 in the final ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, win the ITA Fall Regional Tournament, or win a first-round match at the ITA National Small College Championships.

Babson reached its second consecutive NCAA Tournament regional final and wrapped up the year at 19-5 after falling to sixth-ranked Bowdoin. 

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.