SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Despite a trio of late wins, the Mount Holyoke College squash team was unable to make up the difference, suffering a tough 6-3 loss to William Smith College on Friday at the MHC Squash Courts. The 24th-ranked Herons are now 12-2 on the season, while the 27th-ranked Lyons slip to 4-9 overall.
William Smith opened the match strong as senior Justine Shank (Berwyn, Pa.) grabbed a straight 3-0 victory (11-2, 11-3, 11-6) over MHC senior Rose Minichiello (Collinsville, Conn.) at the eighth position. Junior Michaelann Denton (Kingston, Jamaica) grabbed the Herons second victory from the second spot, defeating Lyons junior Allison Shilling (New Canaan, Conn.), 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-4).
Sophomore Peyton Capute (Baltimore, Md.) then rallied for a 3-1 victory from the fourth position, battling past MHC senior captain Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass.) by a 12-10, 11-5, 11-13, 11-6 margin. From the seventh position, sophomore Anna Worcester (Deerfield, Mass.) then picked up another point for the visitors, defeating senior Annie Wong (Oakland, Calif.) 3-0 (11-1, 11-2, 11-6).
In the first of two five-game matches on the day, William Smith junior Delaney Teceno (Osterville, Mass.) battled back from a 2-0 deficit to grab a 3-2 win over Lyons sophomore Emily Chang (Carmichael, Calif.). The line score from that match was 8-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8.
Mount Holyoke picked up its first point of the match behind the strong efforts of sophomore Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y.), who held tough in a close second game, for a 3-0 victory (11-9, 14-12, 11-7) against sophomore Cashel McCarthy (Malvern, Pa.) at the top of the ladder.
At three, MHC first year Ragini Ghose (Dubai) held a 2-0 lead before first year Madison Bradley (Orchard Park, N.Y.) rebounded to take game three. Ghose battled back, edging out Bradley for the 11-9 win in four to take it 3-1 (11-8, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9).
First year Lessly Portillo (New Haven, Conn.) concluded the drama for Mount Holyoke near the end, falling behind Herons' junior Brooke Hayes (West Hartford, Conn.) by a 2-0 margin. She quickly mounted a comeback, taking game three 11-7, before earning a hard-fought 12-10 win in the fourth frame. Portillo concluded the match with an 11-9 win for the 3-2 match victory (5-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9).
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday, hosting Tufts at 2pm. William Smith is right back in action on Friday evening, facing Smith (at MHC) at 7:45pm.
