NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Smith Tennis turned the nation's longest-running DIII invitational into a statement weekend at NEWITT, showcasing depth across all draws as first-years
Heidi Cambron (Sherbrooke, Canada/Champlain College Lennoxville) and
Ava Emrich (Smyrna, Delaware/Tower Hill School) captured the A-Draw South Bracket and multiple Bears delivered clutch singles and doubles wins.
NEWITT Overview
NEWITT is the longest-running invitational and one of the largest NCAA Division III women's tennis events. Its Billie Jean King Cup–style format enters student-athletes as teams of two or three. Each round features two singles matches (best 2 of 3 sets with a 10-point tiebreak in the third) and one doubles set to six; the squad that wins two of three matches advances.
A Draw
Heidi Cambron (Sherbrooke, Canada/Champlain College Lennoxville) and
Ava Emrich (Smyrna, Delaware/Tower Hill School) represented Smith in the A draw. In their first match, they took on a trio from MIT, Chloe Zeng, Carley Chen, and Megan Sun. In doubles, they played a close match vs Chloe Zeng and Megan Sun. Cambron and Emrich took control of play, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead with their offensive play. Zeng and Chen slowly found their way back into the match. at 5-6, 30-40 down, Emrich and Cambron battled to save two match points and force a set tie-break! In the tie-break, Zeng and Chen were able to capitalize on a few errors, taking the match to go up 1-0 in the round. The team from MIT went on to win both singles matches moving forward in the draw.Â
After moving to the South Bracket, Cambron and Emrich took on Allie Francis and Emilia Romano of Trinity. The Smith pair continued to take offense in doubles and took the set 6-1 to get the lead in the round. Emrich secured the round win, winning her singles match 6-2, 6-2 against Emilia Romano.
Heidi Cambron (Sherbrooke, Canada/Champlain College Lennoxville) secured the sweep for Smith, getting the win over Trinity senior, Allie Francis, in straight sets.Â
Cambron and Emrich were the champions of the South Bracket after the duo of Maddie Swire and Maya Munhunthan had to withdraw due to injury.Â
B Draw
First year duo
Emily Wang (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and
Olivia Chin (Bayside, NY/Dominican Academy) displayed their increasing chemistry as a team throughout NEWITT. In their first round match against Springfield,
Emily Wang (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) got the win in her singles match. After cruising to a win in the first set, her opponent battled back in the second to force a ten pointer. Wang adjusted mentally and physically to take the tie-break 10-6 and give her and her teammate the chante to take the match.Â
In their doubles match,
Emily Wang (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and
Olivia Chin (Bayside, NY/Dominican Academy) jumped ahead to a quick lead showing great energy on court. The duo from Springfield battled back to take the match and the round.Â
Duo of
Marielle Sauber (The Woodlands, TX/The John Cooper School) and
Sabrina Wang (Beijing, China/Princeton) were also competing in the B draw. After losing their first match to eventual B Draw finalists from MIT, Sauber and Wang got the sweep against Abby Hess and Kendall Skulley of Colby. Wang and Sauber played great doubles to get the 6-4 win. In singles play, both Wang and Sauber played three set thrillers. Both athletes won their first set to see their opponents take the second. Wang and Sauber maintain their composure to get the sweet and move on to the B Draw Consolation Finals.Â
In the finals S. Wang and Sauber took on another MIT Team. MIT took the doubles point. In singles play, S. Wang battled against Nishi Gandra. After dropping the first set 5-7, S. Wang battled through the second set to win in a set tiebreak forcing at third set tie-breaker. In the end, Gandra was steady, taking the match securing the B Draw Consolation Final Win.Â
C Draw
The trio of
Dayana Caluna (Plainfield, NJ/College Achieve), Isabel Benitez Barron and
Tabitha Bastress (Shelburne, VT/Champlain Valley Union High School) represented Smith in the C Draw. In pool play on day one, the trio went 2-1 in their pool getting wins over Springfield College and the University of Saint Joseph.Â
Tabitha Bastress (Shelburne, VT/Champlain Valley Union High School) and Isabel Benitez Barron both got impressive singles wins over Springfield. Bastress secured the round win for Smith winning her match in a tie-break 7-4. Benitez Barron showcased her steady play in her 8-4 win over Natalia Peyon.Â
In the trio's win over the University of Saint Joseph,
Dayana Caluna (Plainfield, NJ/College Achieve) won her match without dropping a game. Bastess and Benitez Barron the teamed up in doubles to get the 8-5 win securing the round.Â
On day two,
Tabitha Bastress (Shelburne, VT/Champlain Valley Union High School) continued to show her strength on the singles court getting the 7-5, 6-2 win over Elise Brennan of Trinity. Benitez Barron also battled in her match against Emma Bazemore of Trinity, but Bazemore took the win and secured the round win for her team.Â
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