Box Score MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 16 ranked Wesleyan men's tennis team was tested on Thursday afternoon by No. 31 MIT, but the young Cardinals prevailed with some clutch performances to take a 6-3 win over the Engineers from the Bacon Field House. Wesleyan (6-3) continues to play well amidst a challenging schedule while MIT falls to 6-5 on the season.
Doubles play loomed large in the outcome as Wesleyan managed wins at #1 and #3 to hold a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.
JT Bilski '26 and
Ben Mitchell '24 combined for an 8-6 win over Derek Shen and Daniel Papacica at #1 while
Tai MacDonald '26 and
Max Lustgarten '25 earned an 8-4 win at #3 over Daniel Sharygin and Sundeep Chakladar.
Needing only three singles wins to take the match, Wesleyan continued to pile the pressure on MIT as Bilski dominated at #1, defeating Kailas Kahler 6-2, 6-1, while MacDonald prevailed at #4 over Richter Jordaan 6-2, 6-2 to move the Cardinals into a 4-1 lead.
Looking to secure the match, it was Mitchell who came through with a 7-5, 6-2 win at #2 over Shen that clinched the win for Wesleyan. The Engineers managed victories at #5 and #6 but
Harry Collomb '26 earned another point for Wesleyan in the team scoring with a 7-5, 7-5 victory at #4 over Papacica.
Wesleyan has a huge match upcoming, as the Cardinals travel up to Middlebury to face the Panthers (6-2, 2-1 NESCAC) who last season won the NESCAC and advanced to the semifinal round in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
