WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Smith College tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 35 Wellesley College in NEWMAC action Saturday afternoon at The Amy Batchelor Tennis Courts. Wellesley swept all three doubles flights to claim the early advantage and went on to win four of six singles matches, handing the Bears their second conference loss of the season.
Doubles Sweep Sets the Tone
Wellesley seized control from the outset, winning all three doubles matches to secure the team point before a singles ball was struck. At No. 2, Ayla Hauser (Knoxville, TN/Bearden) and Natazya Simunyola (Lorton, VA/South County High School) fell 6-2 to the Wellesley pairing of Luna Bian and Kriti Sarav. Ava Emrich (Smyrna, Delaware/Tower Hill School) and Heidi Cambron (Sherbrooke, Canada/Champlain College Lennoxville) battled at No. 1 before dropping a 6-4 decision to Emilee Pak and Suzanne Xu. Emily Wang (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and Olivia Chin (Bayside, NY/Dominican Academy) rounded out the doubles slate at No. 3, also falling 6-4 to Nandini Patel and Rianna Mariotti.
Singles Bright Spots
Smith found its footing in singles with wins from two newcomers. Emrich turned in a clean performance at the No. 2 position, dispatching Sofia Corte-Real 6-3, 6-3 to give the Bears their first point of the afternoon. Cambron provided the match's most compelling moment at No. 3, rallying in a three-set battle against Patel. After taking the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7), Cambron dropped the second 5-7 before closing out a 10-7 super tiebreak victory to earn the Bears' second and final point.
Singles Breakdown
Wellesley claimed the other four singles positions. Chin fell 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6 to Sarav, and Simunyola dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Bian at No. 4. Hauser lost 6-1, 6-4 to Xu at No. 1. At No. 5, Marielle Sauber (The Woodlands, TX/The John Cooper School) opened with a 6-4 first-set win over Sophie Buttorff but could not sustain the momentum, dropping the final two sets 3-6, 0-6.
Up Next
Smith returns home to host Springfield College in NEWMAC action on Tuesday, April 14, at 4 p.m. in Northampton, Mass. The Bears carry an overall record of 5-7 (2-2 NEWMAC) into the matchup.
About Smith Athletics Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information, log on to GoSmithBears.com and follow the Bears on Facebook and Instagram.
