CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Senior
Matia Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) and junior
Alessandra Cristiani (San Salvador, El Salvador) both recorded victories in singles and doubles as No. 5 Babson College defeated No. 2 University of Chicago, 4-0, in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal on Monday afternoon at the Champions Tennis Club.
Babson, which has won five in a row and 15 of last 16 matches going back to March, advances to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in program history. The Beavers also become the first team from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) to advance past the national quarterfinals. Chicago, which was making its ninth NCAA consecutive quarterfinal appearance, ends the season at 18-5 overall.
The Green and White secured the all-important doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 2. Sophomore
Alessandra Cristiani and first-year
Elizabeth Shu (Sugar Land, Texas) jumped out to a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-2 win over first-years Tina Kintiroglou (New Vernon, N.J.) and Lily Zawaneh (Scottsdale, Ariz.) at number two, while senior
Matia Cristiani and first-year
Sandra Sikharulidze (Kyiv, Ukraine) rallied to take the final three games in a 6-4 victory over junior Oliwia Mikos (Willowbrook, Ill.) and senior Lauren Khou (Johns Creek, Ga.) at number one.
Beavers' junior
Dana Kamal (Cairo, Egypt) and first-year
Jolie Wang (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) won the first three games at number three but trailed Chicago sophomores Isabelle Chong (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Clara Zou (Potomac, Md.) 4-3 at number three when the point was clinched.
Babson carried its momentum into singles winning the first set in five of the six matches.
Matia Cristiani, the top-ranked player in Division III, secured the first point with a 6-3, 6-3 win over second-ranked junior Sarena Biria (Kansas City, Kan.) at number one. First-year
Tina Liu (Plantation, Fla.) rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the first and recorded a pair of service breaks early in the second to down Maroons' senior Brooke Pedersen (San Anselmo, Calif.) 6-4, 6-2 at number five.
The Beavers clinched the match moments later at number four singles where
Alessandra Cristiani defeated Zawaneh 6-0, 7-5. Following a dominating first-set performance, Cristiani fell behind 4-1 in the second following a break by Zawaneh and trailed 5-3 before winning four consecutive games to win in straight sets.
Sikharulidze, who is ranked 10th in singles, led 24th-ranked Zou 6-4, 5-4 at number two, while Shu and Wang were both involved in tight matches. Shu won the opening set but trailed 18th-ranked first-year Anika Paul (Warren, N.J.) 6-4, 3-6, 0-1 at number three, while Wang was down 6-7 (2-7), 1-2 against Chong at number six.
Babson will now face No. 3 Washington University (Mo.) in the national semifinals on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
MATCH NOTES
• Monday's match was the first in program history for the Beavers and against Chicago and their first all-time in the NCAA Tournament against an opponent from the UAA.
•
Matia Cristiani is now 32-0 this season in all singles matches and improved her record to 63-0 all-time in dual-match singles competition with every victory coming at either No. 1 or No. 2.
• With its victories on Monday, Babson extended its winning streaks to 40 straight matches at number one singles and 39 consecutive victories at number one doubles.
• Babson is now 14-0 on the year when it records a victory at number five singles.
