MIDDLETOWN, Conn.— For the second year in a row, junior Olivia Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and sophomore Matia Cristiani (Miami, Fla.) both won a pair of singles matches and combined for a victory in doubles highlighting the opening day of competition at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England Championships at Wesleyan University.

Soffer, who is the defending champion and top seed in the 64-player singles draw, defeated Zoe Kava of Tufts 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round and Alexandra Burnett of Wesleyan in the second round, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the round of 16 for the third consecutive season. Cristiani, who is seeded third in the singles draw after reaching the quarterfinals a year ago, knocked off Cara Hung of Bowdoin 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) and Jackie Soloveychik of Wesleyan, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the round of 16 for the second year in a row.

The top seed in the doubles bracket and quarterfinalists last year, Soffer and Cristiani received a first-round bye on Friday before defeating Jackie Soloveychik and Macie Carlos of Wesleyan, 8-1, to move into the round of 16 again this year.

Babson's doubles tandem of sophomores Kamila Stasiowska (Burlington, Conn.) and Mariana Campos (Houston, Texas) posted a first-round victory over Alysa Elliott/Veronica Fulgieri of Springfield, 8-0, before falling to Lane Durkin/Alexandra Burnett of Wesleyan, 8-1 in the round of 32.

Junior Laetitia Rizk (Beirut, Lebanon) and first-year Chaniel Soffer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) suffered first round losses to seeded players in the A singles bracket, Rizk going down to eighth-seeded Sophie Diop of Amherst, 6-3, 6-0, and Soffer falling to fifth-seeded Sam Riordan of Colby, 6-3, 7-5.

Two other Babson tandems, Chaniel Soffer and sophomore Elena Keitt (Austin, Texas) as well as Rizk and senior Adèle Fernández (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), suffered first round losses in the doubles bracket.

Babson had four entries in the B singles bracket. Third-seeded Stasiowska and senior Juliette Moschella (Little Silver, N.J.) both won a first match but lost in the round of 16, Keitt won a play-in match before losing in the round of 32, and Campos was eliminated in the play-in round.

The tournament continues Saturday with round of 16 matches in both singles and doubles.