Sports

Men’s tennis picked to repeat championship

Coaches pick MIT as favorites in poll

After capturing the program’s 16th consecutive conference crown last spring, the MIT men’s tennis team was picked to win the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) crown, as announced by the league last Friday morning. Tech received seven first-place votes in the preseason poll — votes were casted by the conference’s coaches.

Tech, which has captured the league crown for 16 straight years, defeated Babson College last spring in the NEWMAC Championship by a score of 6-0. MIT advanced to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Nichols College in the first round before falling to Bowdoin College in the second round.

MIT commenced its spring season on Friday, Feb. 20 with a 7-2 win over non-conference foe Bentley University and followed up last Friday with a 9-0 win over UMass Boston.

Tech opens conference play on Wednesday, April 1 as the Engineers host Babson in a rematch of last year’s title match. Babson was picked to finish second in the preseason poll, while U.S. Coast Guard Academy was projected to finish third.