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| Zoe Miller clinched the match in No. 5 singles with a 6-2, 7-5 victory |
CAMBRIDGE - The sixth-ranked Tufts women's tennis team extended a five-match winning streak and took down local rival #13 MIT in a tightly-contested match on Friday evening, earning a 5-4 victory. The match took place in MIT's J.B. Carr Tennis Bubble.
Lauren Louks and Patricia Obeid opened the scoring for the Jumbos in No. 2 doubles, defeating Engineers pair Lara Rakocevic and Kelly Zhu, 8-2. MIT quickly evened the score at 1-1 in No. 3 doubles, with Sonya Das and Dora Tzeng taking down Zoe Miller and Kat Wiley 8-4.
The Jumbos responded with an 8-4 victory of their own in No. 1 doubles as Mina Karamercan and Otilia Popa continued their undefeated streak this spring, besting the Engineers' Elysa Kohrs and Libby Rickeman and earning a 2-1 doubles advantage for Tufts.
Tomo Iwasaki began a back-and-forth singles section by defeating MIT's Tzeng 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 4 match. Zhu responded for the Engineers by taking down Louks 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 3 tilt making the team score 3-2. Karamercan, #21 in ITA rankings, dropped the first set to #9 Rickeman at No. 2, however she battled back to take the final two sets and win the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
With Tufts leading 3-2, Obeid took #11 Kohrs the distance at No. 1, but ultimately fell in a close contest 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-5. However, Miller avenged an earlier doubles loss by clinching the victory for the Jumbos at No. 5, winning 6-2, 7-5 against MIT's Rakocevic. Engineer Marina Zhang got the better of Wiley at No. 6, 6-4, 6-5, to finish up the match.
The Jumbos will look to continue their hot spring in Waterville, Maine on Sunday, where they will face off against #1 Emory at 9:00 a.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. contest against host Colby. MIT faces a quick turnaround, as they will play Clark tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m.
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