Women’s Tennis On Road to NEWMACs, Beats Wheaton, 6-3
Last week, the MIT women’s tennis defeated Wheaton College 6-3. Both teams had only one loss this season so a close match was expected.
First up were the doubles matches. The exhibition match of the team of Kerry R. Weinberg ’10 and Jennifer A. Rees ’11 came off first, winning easily. The next matches took much longer to complete, each a battle to the end. The team of Melissa A. Diskin ’11 and Alexandria C. Hall ’12 won their match 8-6, followed closely by the team of Karina N. Pikhart ’09 and Anisa K. McCree ’10 who lost their match, also with a score of 8-6. This left the teams tied 1-1. Leslie A. Hansen ’10 and Anastasia Vishnevetsky ’12 fought hard and came out on top with a score of 9-7, giving MIT a lead of 2-1 at the end of doubles play.
MIT had the momentum going into the singles matches. The first player off the court was Rees who won her exhibition match in an eight game pro-set. Next off were Pikhart and McCree who both defeated their opponents 6-3, 6-2. Weinberg won her exhibition match, despite the fact that half of her match was played in the dark on a court with no lights. Next off was Vishnevetsky, who won her close match 7-6, 6-4. The next three matches were all lasted three sets. Hall finished next, losing her hard fought match 2-6, 6-3, 2-6.
The last two matches were even longer. Hansen came back from losing her first set to take the other two decisively for a final score of 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. As Hansen was finishing her second set, Diskin was finishing her first. The split set match was decided in a tie break for the third; Diskin lost 6-7, 6-2, 10-6. Assistant Coach Dan Griffin gave the players a bit of wisdom after the match, saying that the tough matches you might not like at the time are a “gem” to you later.
MIT’s 6-3 defeat of Wheaton makes them the second seed going into the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Championship Tournament this weekend.