NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Smith College tennis team went undefeated in the first day of the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT) on Friday evening. 

This unique tournament is played similar to a regular dual match between two teams where each round of play is one doubles and two singles matches. The team that wins best of three matches goes forward in the draw. 

The first team to take the court was Lili Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) and Clara Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) facing the duo of Johanna Schroeder and Sofia Leonardi from Nichols College. The Smith pair got off to a shaky start with their doubles play going down 7-1 in the match to eight games. With the match on the line, the duo started to mix up play and quickly made their opponents uncomfortable. The team was able to turn the tides, forcing a set tie-break at 7-7, winning the match 8-7 (7-4).

The match was decided by C. Goshgarian who took on Sofia Leonardi in singles play. C. Goshgarian carried her momentum from doubles, taking the match 8-3 securing her team's spot in the B Draw quarterfinals. 

Next on for Smith was the duo of Dayana Caluna (Plainfield, NJ/College Achieve) and Sophia Dube (Portland, OR/Oregon Episcopal School), taking on another team from Nichols. Starting with singles play, Caluna cruised to an 8-3 win over her opponent. Dube battled in her match after transitioning play from outside to inside due to rain. Her opponent was able to take the match though forcing doubles play. 

Caluna and Dube played a close match against their opponents from Nichols. The pair had to make many adjustments during their match to keep their lead. After going up 6-5, the pair was able to stay steady and take the match 8-5 securing their spot in the C Draw quarterfinals. 

Miranda Gibson (Bethlehem, PA/Moravian Academy) and Sabrina Wang (Beijing, China/Princeton) were the next on for the Pioneers. They took to the court in doubles for their first match together as a pair which was Wang's first doubles match of her college career. After a bit of a unsteady start outside, the pair had the chance to regroup as play was moved indoors. Once inside, the pair only dropped one game on their way to an 8-3 victory. 

In singles, Gibson got off to a slow start, going down 3-0. She started to find her groove and made the comeback to take the match 8-4 and clinching the win for Smith earning their spot in the semifinal round of the D Draw. 

First-years Ayla Hauser (Knoxville, TN/Bearden) and Aranne Jung (Los Angeles, CA/North Hollywood) were the last on for Smith on day one of NEWITTs. They took on Fulgieri and Elliot of Springfield. Starting with doubles, the two played smart doubles to neutralize Springfield's strengths giving them the 8-3 win. 

In singles, Hauser secured the second quarterfinal spot in the B Draw for Smith with an 8-1 win. Jung also played great tennis to close out her singles match 8-3. 

Up Next
The Pioneers will continue with NEWITT on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8.

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.