BABSON PARK, Mass.— Junior
Louis Bourn (Geneva, Switzerland), sophomore
Sebastian Mendoza (Weston, Fla.) and first-year
Max Lidman (Stockholm, Sweden) all registered victories in both singles and doubles as No. 11 Babson College cruised past Clark University, 6-1, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's tennis match Saturday afternoon at the Babson Tennis Courts.
With the win, Babson has won four of its last five since returning from spring break and moves to 12-4 overall and 4-0 in the NEWMAC. Clark falls to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in conference matches.
Sophomore
Mason Nguyen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) and first-year
Dylan O'Connell-DeCerchio (Santa Monica, Calif.) won singles matches for the Beavers, and senior
Martin Mejia (Cali, Colombia) and first-years
Rishi Batlanki (Monroe Township, N.J.five; and classmate
Sourish Gadhi (Morganville, N.J.) were on winning doubles team for the Green and White.
Senior Edward Shepherd-Johnson (Takoma Park, Md.) was the lone winner for the Cougars.
The Beavers earned their first point with a sweep of the doubles. Bourn and Mejia got past Shepherd-Johnson and senior Graham Russo (Bridgewater, Mass.) at number one, 6-3; Mendoza and Gadhi took down sophomore Ziad Tabbara (Manacor, Spain) and junior Aris Kirkorian (Sunnyside, N.Y.) at number two, 6-1; and Lidman and Batlanki breezed past first-years Benjamin Liu (Rians, France) and Ved Rao (Worcester, Mass.) at number three, 6-1.
Babson took five of the singles matches in straight sets, led by Mendoza's 6-0, 6-0 verdict over Tabbara at number one. Lidman defeated Kirkorian at number three, 6-3, 6-3; O'Connell-DeCerchio coasted past Russo at number four, 6-2, 6-0; Nguyen was a 6-0, 6-2 winner over first-year Petru Cojocaru (Greenfield, Mass.) at number five; and Bourn had little trouble with Liu at number six, 6-0, 6-1.
Shepherd-Johnson came back from dropping the first set to defeat Batlanki at number two, 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-3).
The Beavers will be home again for a make-up match against rival and 26th-ranked MIT on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Clark will host Salve Regina for its Senior Day match on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
MATCH NOTES
• Babson has won 16 consecutive matches against Clark since 2013 and is 35-2 all-time against the Cougars in a series that goes back to 1997.
• The Beavers extended their winning streak against NEWMAC foes to 13 matches dating back to the start of last season.
• With two doubles wins on the weekend, Mendoza now has won 24 doubles matches this season, surpassing the program's single-season record of 22 set by senior
Alexander Merson (Palisades Park, N.J.) last year.