MIT Women's Tennis

The women's tennis team travelled to Middlebury College in Vermont this past weekend to play in the Middlebury Invitational Tennis Tournament. MIT was one of 10 teams present. Play was divided into 3 singles and 3 doubles flights. The weather was very unpredictable, as play was held mostly outside on Saturday, but was moved inside on Sunday as several inches of snow fell in Vermont.

In Flight A singles, co-captain Mealani Nakamura '00 was the top seed, and received a bye in the first round. She crushed her opponent from Montclair St. 6-1, 6-0 in the second round, but had a much tougher first set in the quarterfinals against her Hamilton opponent, winning it in a tie-breaker. She easily won the second set 6-2. In the semifinals she dominated her Middlebury oppponent, winning 6-2, 6-2. In the finals, she faced the second seed from Cortland. The two proceeded to play a fantastic match, with Nakamura dropping the first set 6-2, but rebounding to win the second by the same score. The third set was a dogfight, with neither woman giving in. In the end Cortland walked away with a 6-4 win. Also in Flight A singles, Kelly Koskelin '02 was seeded third, and received a bye in the first round. She faced a tough opponent from Middlebury (who eventually made the semis), losing 6-2, 6-3. In Flight A doubles, Nakamura/Koskelin were the top seeds, and received a bye in the first round. They crushed William-Smith in the second round, 8-1, and defeated Hamilton 8-4 in the semis. Nakamura faced her singles final opponent in doubles as well, and Nakamura/Koskelin left no doubt as to who was the better team. They trailed 6-3, but rallied for an explosive 8-6 win.

In Flight B singles, Jess Hall '02 was seeded second and received a first round bye. In the second round, she wore out her opponent from Hamilton, winning 6-2, 6-4. She lost in the quarterfinals to a Vermont player, 6-4, 6-2. Also in Flight B singles, Singh '00 received a bye in the first round. She lost in the second round to the eventual champion from Middlebury, 6-3, 6-0. In Flight B doubles, Hall/Singh were seeded second and received a bye in the first round. However, they had to default to Hall injurying herself in singles.

In Flight C singles, Ayako Tanaka '00 received a bye in the first round, and won a hard fought three setter in the second. This match featured large momentum swings, as Tanaka won the first set 6-4, but lost the second at love. She weathered the storm, however, and won the third set, and match 6-3. She lost in the quarters to a Middlebury player, 6-3, 6-1. Also in Flight C singles, Ann Hsing '02 lost in the first round. In Flight C doubles, Tanaka/Hsing received a bye in the first round. They played a great match in the second round, losing 8-5 to the eventual finalists from Hamilton.

Head coach Carol Matsuzaki had the following to say about the hectic weekend: "This tournament was a good opportunity to work on some individual things because the pressure of a dual match was not there. We need to keeep working hard as we head into the end of the regular season/beginning on post season play." The team faces Brandeis on Thursday at home.