Babson Advances to NEWMAC Finals, Falls to MIT

BOX SCORE (vs. Wheaton)  |  BOX SCORE  (vs. MIT)

The Babson College men's tennis team advanced to its second straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship match and their fifth in nine years after they defeated Wheaton College, 5-1 in Saturday's semifinal match. In the finals match, the Beavers fell to MIT, 5-1.

The third-seeded Wheaton College men's tennis team fell to the number-two Beavers by a 5-1 count during Saturday's semifinal round of the NEWMAC Tournament at the Norton Middle School. Wheaton saw its season come to a close at 11-7 and Babson would enter the championship match with an overall record of 10-10.
 
The visitors raced to a 3-0 advantage after doubles play, led by the tandem of junior Ken Lin (Cavendish Heights, Hong Kong/Milton Academy) and first-year Taylor Dutton (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel), who notched an 8-2 triumph at number three.
 
Juniors Alex Kamergorodsky (Millis, MA/Needham) and Brian Lafayette (Burlington, VT/Burlington) won 8-6 in the top doubles slot, while classmate Moises Numa (Tallahassee, FL/Pinellas Park Senior) and first-year Justin Albert (Newton, MA/Newton South) edged senior Nii Manfoi Davies (Town & Country, MO/The Principia) and junior Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge), 9-7 at two.
 
Babson was victorious in two of the three completed singles matches to claim the overall win, as Kamergorodsky knocked off first-year Neall Oliver (Portland, ME/Deering) by a 6-2, 6-1 final at number one.  Wheaton junior James Little (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) won a 7-6 tiebreaker during his opening set at second singles before his opponent retired midway through the second set, as the Lyons narrowed their deficit to 4-1.
 
At number five, Lafayette overcame a first-set hole against sophomore Brian Krantz (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) to clinch the Beaver victory.  Trailing 6-4 after one, Lafayette stormed back to post convincing scores of 6-2 and 6-1 in the final two sets.
 
Two of the three unfinished matches went to a third set, as Wheaton sophomore Harry Altman (Riverdale, NY/The Dwight School) was trailing Babson sophomore Austin Conti (Murray Hill, NJ/The Pingry School) at number four while Lin was ahead of Hudgins in the third position.

In the championship match, the top-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) men's tennis team remained the lone squad in the 11-year history of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) to capture the postseason tournament crown, as the Engineers knocked off number-two Babson College, 5-1 in Saturday afternoon's final round at Wheaton College's Clark Tennis Courts. MIT improved to 16-2, while Babson saw its season end with a 10-11 record.

 
Each team won handily during a doubles match, with Babson juniors Alex Kamergorodsky (Millis, MA/Needham) and Brian Lafayette (Burlington, VT/Burlington) combining for an 8-4 triumph in the first position and MIT senior Peden Nichols (Great Falls, VA/Thomas Jefferson) and first-year Samuel Harmatz (Huntingdon Valley, PA/Lower Moreland) corralling an 8-2 win at three.
 
In the second slot, the Engineers broke the deadlock when senior David Iba (Lexington, MA/Lexington) and first-year Brian Wee (Woodbury, NY/Syosset) captured a 9-7 tiebreaker to win their match by a 9-8 count against junior Moises Numa (Tallahassee, FL/Pinellas Park Senior) and first-year Justin Albert (Newton, MA/Newton South).
 
While three close singles matches were occurring, MIT clinched the title when a trio of players notched straight-set wins. Sophomore Kevin Pang (Torrance, CA/California Academy of Math and Science) posted a 6-3, 6-4 win in the first position, Harmatz picked up a 6-2, 6-0 victory at four, and senior Jonathan Farm's (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School) 6-2, 6-4 triumph in the sixth spot was the fifth and final Engineer victory.
 
In the fifth slot, Lafayette held a one-set advantage before Nichols rallied all the way back, leading 3-0 in the third set when the match was decided. Wee led junior Ken Lin (Cavendish Heights, Hong Kong/Milton Academy), 4-0 in the third set at three, and Engineer sophomore Ken Van Tilburg (Kapellen, Belgium/Sint-Michielscollege Brasschaat) was one game shy of knotting his match in the second position with Albert.

NOTE: Taken from a Wheaton College press release.