NATICK, Mass. – No. 6 Babson College swept doubles and won five of six singles lines in a 6-1 decision over No. 36 Wellesley College tennis at Longfellow Health Club on Sunday.
The Beavers (13-3 Overall, 7-0 NEWMAC) opened play with a sweep of doubles over the Blue (10-5 Overall, 4-2 NEWMAC). Senior Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and first-year Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) quickly put up a 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles over senior Emilee Pak (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Sofia Corte-Real (Stamford, Conn.).
No. 3 doubles matched the 6-1 outcome for Babson to give the Beavers a point. Wellesley sophomores Rianna Mariotti (Forest Hills, N.Y.) and Nandini Patel (Phoenix, Ariz.) fell to sophomore Sarai Dorismond (Carlsbad, Calif.) and first-year Jolie Wang (Los Altos Hills, Calif.).
No. 2 doubles was closely contested between the Blue's pairing of junior Kriti Sarav (Chicago, Ill.) and first-year Luna Bian (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Babson's duo of sophomore Alessandra Crisitiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and first-year Elizabeth Shu (Sugar Land, Texas). The match went to a tiebreaker at 6-6, with the Beavers ultimately escaping with the win.
M. Cristiani made it 2-0 at the No. 1 singles line, winning 6-1, 6-0 against Corte-Real. A. Cristiani followed closely behind with the same score against Sarav at No. 5 singles.
Sikharulidze was the fourth and winning point for Babson at No. 2. The first-year registered a 6-3, 6-1 triumph against Patel.
Wang upped the margin to 5-0 at No. 6 singles. The first-year squared off Wellesley first-year Praslin Hayes (Robbinsville, N.J.), coming away with a close 6-4, 7-6 win.
Sophomore Sophie Buttorff (Tacoma, Wash.) helped Wellesley avoid the shutout, looking sharp in a 6-1, 6-2 point at No. 4 over first-year Tina Liu (Plantation, Fla.).
Bian and Shu dueled at No. 3 in the final match to conclude. Shu narrowly scooped up a 7-6 first set and duplicated it with a 7-6 second.
Next up, the Blue will host Clark University at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, April 21. The Beavers welcome No. 13 Washington & Lee on Thursday, April 23 at 3:15 PM.
