No. 15 Women's Tennis at No. 8 MIT
NEWMAC Tournament Final
Sunday, May 4 | 12 p.m. 
DuPont Tennis Courts | Cambridge, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 7-53 all-time against MIT in a series that dates back to the 1979-80 campaign. 
•    The Beavers have dropped four straight matches to the Engineers following their 6-3 victory in Babson Park back in April 2023. 
•    The Green and White's last three wins over MIT have come at home and it is seeking its first victory over the Engineers in Cambridge since the 2003 NEWMAC final. 

POSTSEASON HISTORY
•    The teams will meet for the fourth consecutive season and sixth time since 2018 in the NEWMAC Tournament final on Sunday. 
•    Babson is 2-13 all-time in the conference playoffs versus MIT, which includes 5-3 setbacks in both 2023 and 2024.
•    The Beavers are 2-5 in seven previous meetings in the NEWMAC final against the Engineers with their wins coming in 2003 (5-2) and 2014 (5-4). 
•    Sunday's match will be the ninth in the last 11 conference tournaments between Babson and MIT.

LAST MEETING
•    Jay Lu and Saina Deshpande both recorded victories in both singles and doubles to help MIT defeat the Beavers, 4-3, back on April 18 in Babson Park. 
•    Lu paired with Chloe Zeng for a 6-3 win at number two doubles and Deshpande and Anastasia Samets recorded a 6-3 triumph at number three doubles for the Engineers, who also got a victory from Alaina Kollia at number five singles. 
•    Senior Olivia Soffer and junior Matia Cristiani were 6-3 winners at number one doubles and then recorded straight-set triumphs at number one and two singles, respectively, for the Beavers, who also got a point from sophomore Dana Kamal at number six singles. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Third-seeded and 15th-ranked Babson (14-5) advanced to its seventh consecutive NEWMAC Tournament final with a 4-0 victory at second-seeded and 16th-ranked Wellesley on Saturday afternoon.
•    After securing the doubles point thanks to a 6-4 win by Kamal and first-year Mia Sorrentino, the Beavers got singles victories from Matia Cristiani at number two, first-year Alessandra Cristiani at number three and junior Kamila Stasiowskia at number five to avenge their 4-3 regular season loss to the Blue. 
•    Fourth-ranked Olivia Soffer is 23-4 overall and 13-1 this spring at number one singles, eight-ranked Matia Cristiani is 23-1 in all matches and 13-0 at number two, Alessandra Cristiani is 19-7 overall and 7-4 at number four, and sophomroe Chaniel Soffer is 17-7 in all matches and 8-4 at third singles. 
•    Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani are 20-2 overall and 13-1 at number one singles, Chaniel Soffer and Alessandra Cristiani have gone 9-6 at number two, and the duo of Kamal and Sorrentino are 5-2 this spring with three wins at number three. 

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
•    Top-seeded and eighth-ranked MIT (15-2) advanced to its 12th consecutive NEWMAC Tournament final by cruising past fourth-seeded Smith in Saturday's semifinals. 
•    Lu and Samets both won in singles and doubles and first-year Fiona Lee registered a 6-4, 6-1 victory at number one singles for the Engineers, who improved to 10-0 on the year at home. 
•    Lee is 18-3 overall and 6-1 at number one singles, Lu (21-4) has won 11 consecutive matches, Zeng is 16-7 in all matches with 11 victories coming at number one and two, and Deshpande is a perfect 13-0 in singles. 
•    Alaina Kolli and Artemis Pados, who ranked 20th in Division III, are 11-4 at number one doubles, Lu and Zeng are 21-3 overall and 13-1 at number two, and the duo of Deshpande and Samets are 12-3 in all matches with nine wins at number three doubles. 

BEAVERS SWEEP FINAL NEWMAC WEEKLY AWARDS
•    Matia Cristiani was selected as the league's singles player of the week for the second time this spring, while she and Olivia Soffer was tabbed the conference's doubles team of the week for the third time this season on Monday.
•    Cristiani was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Wheaton's Greenlee at number one last Tuesday and then edged 33-ranked ranked Amy Cui of Amherst, 6-4, 6-4, at number two singles on Saturday. 
•    Soffer and Cristiani ran their winning streak to 10 matches with victories over Greenlee and Ortiz of Wheaton and 22nd-ranked Lily Dounchis and Delialia Friedman of Amherst on Saturday in a rematch of last year's NCAA doubles semifinals. 

WE MEET AGAIN
•    Olivia Soffer and Lee will meet for the third time this season on Sunday in a matchup of two of the nation's top players at number one singles. 
•    Soffer defeated Lee in the semifinals of the ITA New England Championships 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 back in September before posting a straight-set victory when the teams met back on April 18. 

POSTSEASON SUCCESS
•    Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani, who are currently ranked fourth in Division III, are 7-0 all-time at number one doubles in the postseason. 
•    Soffer is 5-0 in NEWMAC and NCAA Tournament play at number one singles, while Cristiani is 7-0 in her career at number two. 

BEAVERS IN THE POSTSEASON
•    All seven of Babson's previous NEWMAC Tournament final appearances have come against MIT.
•    The Green and White is 4-7 over its last 11 NEWMAC Tournament matches away from Babson Park dating back to 2014.
•    Babson has captured NEWMAC Tournament championships in 2003 and 2014. 

STREAKING BEAVERS
•    Matia Cristiani has won 18 straight singles matches, Olivia Soffer has won 13 in a row, Alessandra Cristiani extended her winning streak to six on Saturday and junior Grace Starcher owns five consecutive victories. 
•    Junior Riya Matharoo, who won the opening set at number five singles on Tuesday versus Wheaton, and classmate Shyla Khattar have both won four singles matches in a row.
•    Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani have won 11 consecutive matches at number one doubles, while Matharoo and Starcher won their fourth in a row in Tuesday's quarterfinal victory over Wheaton at third doubles. 

TRENDS TO WATCH
•    The Beavers are 14-2 on the year when winning the doubles point.
•    Babson is 12-1 on the year when winning at number three doubles.
•    The Green and White is 10-0 when recording a victory at number five singles and 11-0 when capturing a point at number six singles. 
•    The Beavers are 7-5 against top-40 opponents this spring but have dropped to a pair of top-10 foes. They fell 5-2 to No. 8 Middlebury on March 19 and 4-3 to No. 3 Emory on April 11.