WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College tennis shook off an early setback in doubles to rally for a 5-1 victory over visiting Stonehill College in the season opener for both teams on Thursday evening. The Blue and Skyhawks opened play outside before rain showers forced the match to be played to decision inside Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

At No. 1 doubles, the Stonehill duo of Victoria Barbetta (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Carolina Alvarez (Orlando, Fla.) topped Wellesley senior Carina Chen (Hong Kong) and sophomore Justine Huang (Coto de Caza, Calif.), 8-6. However, from that point on, the match belonged to the Blue.

Chen and Huang each rallied in singles play, with Chen taking a 6-2, 6-1, victory over Barbetta at No. 1 and Huang cruising past junior Emma Prinos (Foxboro, Mass.) in straight sets at No. 3.

Wellesley then clinched the match when senior Andjela Stojkovic (Victoria, British Columbia) defeated Alvarez, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 4 singles.

Wellesley first years Sarah Yan (Holmdel, N.J.) and Selina Peng (Taichung, Taiwan) were both leading at No. 2 and No. 5 singles, respectively, at the time Stojkovic clinched the match for the Blue.

Wellesley (1-0) will open NEWMAC play this Saturday, September 3, when they host rival Smith College at 11:00 AM. Stonehill (0-1) will travel to SNHU to open Northeast-10 conference play next Wednesday, September 7.