Smith Tennis opened on Saturday, Sept. 11 with NEWMAC conference opponent, MIT. The Pioneers had some personal bests but suffered a 2-7 loss to the formidable MIT Beavers. The match was hosted by MIT in perfect weather conditions.
Number 2 doubles of Maggie Steiner and Nikki Anderson played their finest college doubles together on Saturday posting a significant win over Melissa Diskin and Katie O’Neal. Smith spent the greater part of pre-season preparation focusing on doubles play and it showed. The hard hitting duo dominated the match from the beginning posting an 8-2 victory.
The lone singles win for the Pioneers came at 6th singles where Eunice Zhao outlasted her opponent in a 6-2, 2-6, (10-8) match. Plagued with an ankle sprain earlier in the week, Zhao rose to the occasion on Saturday in competition.
Gianna Teague gave Melissa Diskin a challenging match that went down to the wire at number 4 singles. Gianna ended up losing in a tiebreaker (8-10) in the third set.
Both squads are slated to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships next weekend. The tournament, which will be hosted by Babson and Wellesley College, is scheduled to begin on Friday and run through Sunday.
