SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Backed by victories from the second to ninth spot on the ladder, the Mount Holyoke College squash team posted an 8-1 win over Smith College on Wednesday evening at the MHC Squash Courts. With the victory, the #26 Lyons improve to 4-4 on the season, while the #36 Pioneers slip to 0-7 overall.
The Lyons got things going quickly as the even positions of the ladder took to the courts. Junior Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) posted an 11-3, 11-0, 11-3 win against sophomore Leah Jeon (Vancouver, B.C./Collingwood) in the sixth, while classmate Anna Hartman (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) made it a 2-0 advantage for MHC with an 11-3, 11-0, 11-1 win over first year Jimin Amanda Lee (Seoul, South Korea/Yongsan International School of Seoul) at eight.
Sophomore Sanjna Merchant (Mumbai, India/Jai Hind College) claimed victory at four with an 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 win against sophomore Geena Choo (Singapore, Singapore/Choate Rosemary Hall). Senior Samantha Rosado (Meriden, Conn./F.T. Maloney) then gutted out an 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 win against Smith senior Jana Chan (San Francisco, Calif./The Bay School) at two for a 4-0 lead.
MHC sophomore Allison Shilling (New Canaan, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) put up an 11-0, 11-2, 11-4 win against sophomore Eva Morgenstein (San Francisco, Calif./Lowell) at five, followed by an 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 victory from Lyons' first year Emily Chang (Carmichael, Calif./Mira Loma) over junior Gracie Maull (Exeter, N.H./Miss Porter's) at seven.
At three, MHC's Xianger Fei (Hangzhou, China/Hangzhou Foreign Language School) defeated junior Carly Melillo (Chester, Conn./Valley) 11-9, 11-5, 11-2, followed by a win from Lyons' Maria Correa (Wellesley, Mass./Bunker Hill) at nine over senior K.K. Lane (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep), 11-3, 11-8, 11-7.
The Pioneers got on the board in the final match of the night as senior Jacqueline Zhou (Singapore, Singapore/Raffles Institution) battled with MHC first year Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy). After recording an 11-8 win in the opening game, Zhou went on to claim a tigh 11-9 and 11-7 victory for the match decision.
Mount Holyoke returns to action this weekend as it sends several players to Wesleyan University to compete in the Division III National Tournament. Action begins on Friday and runs through Sunday. Smith is back on the court on Tuesday, hosting Amherst at 6pm.
