MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - The Mount Holyoke College squash team concluded action at the 2013 Wesleyan Round Robin on Sunday, finishing the tournament with a 4-0 record to improve to 5-2 on the season. The #21 Lyons opened day two's action with a 9-0 victory over area-rival #34 Smith, before edging the host & #20 Cardinals by a 5-4 margin.
Against Wesleyan, the Lyons snapped the Cardinals six-game winning streak with key victories in the first four positions of the ladder, along with a seventh position victory from first year Sanjna Merchant to seal the win. Senior captain Randima Ranaweera battled to a hard-fought win in the first position against Mary Foster, posting scores of 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10 for the victory.
Classmate and fellow captain Shaheen Madraswala cruised to a 3-0 win in the second flight, downing Lauren Nelson, 11-5, 11-1, 11-4, while sophomore Sherouk Khefagy upended Annie Maxwell, 11-5, 11-2, 11-4.
Senior Katrina Intal then gained a critical win in the fourth position, defeating Liza Bayless by an 11-3, 11-8, 11-9 margin. Despite losses in the fifth and sixth positions, Merchant came up big in the seventh position, claiming an 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 win against Abigail Smith to win it.
Several others had solid efforts for the Lyons, including junior Xianger Fei, who fell to Miranda Linsky by a tough 11-7, 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10 margin.
The morning match against Smith saw a shake-up in the ladder as Intal played in the first position, improving to 4-0 on the weekend with an 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 win over Pioneers' Vivian Lee.
Senior Elyse Taylor recorded an 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 win against Geena Choo, while first year's Allison Shilling and Merchant each claimed victory over Carly Mellilo (11-2, 11-3, 11-3) and Jin Lee (11-3, 11-2, 11-2), respectively in the third and fourth flights.
Fei was a winner at the fifth position against Eva Morgenstein (11-1, 11-1, 11-2), while sophomore Catherine Ryan had an 11-2, 11-3, 11-1 win against Gracie Maull. Classmate Anna Hartman went on to defeat Leah Jeon (11-7, 11-6, 11-4), while Amy Sanchez and Amanda Lee each had solid wins against Megan Perry (11-3, 11-4, 11-6) and Hira Humayun (11-1, 11-0, 11-0), respectively to round out the ladder.
The Lyons are now idle until 2014, when they open against Middlebury College on January 11 in a 2pm home contest at the MHC Squash Courts.
