Men’s Tennis Hands Bentley First Loss of Season
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the second day in a row, the MIT men's tennis team took to the confines of the Carr Tennis Bubble and came away with a win, defeating visiting Bentley University, 7-2, on Friday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers, who are ranked 25th nationally, improve to 3-2. The loss was Bentley's first of the 2011-12 campaign, as the Falcons drop to 6-1.
Tech started off by sweeping all three doubles matches. Senior Elia Harmatz (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) teamed up with senior Robert Wheeler (Denton, Texas) for an 8-1 win in the No. 3 doubles position. Junior Matthew Skalak (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) and sophomore Edwin Zhang (Falls Church, Va.) picked up a hard-fought, 8-4, victory in the second spot.
The Cardinal and Gray continued its strong play in the singles matches, with Zhang, Hamatz and Skalak, earning convincing straight-set wins at Nos. 1, 3, and 5, respectively. Zhang won by a score of 6-1, 6-2, while Skalak surrendered just a pair of games, winning 6-1, 6-1.
Junior Brian Oldfield (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) bounced back from an opening set loss to defeat Rodrigo Ribeiro, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 2.
MIT will continue its spring slate next Thursday, March 8, hosting Salem State for a match beginning at 4:00 p.m.
