POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Mount Holyoke College squash team concluded its regular season on Saturday at the 2016 Seven Sisters Championship, hosted by Vassar College. The Lyons went 2-1 on the weekend, finishing second overall, and improving its season record to 6-15.
Wellesley 9, Mount Holyoke 0
The Lyons saw its first position match go down to the wire as Blue sophomore Sarah Zhang (Lexington, Mass.) and MHC sophomore Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y.) battled it out. Going back-and-forth, Zhang pulled out the victory with a 5-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 11-1.
The Blue swept to 3-0 wins in the other eight match-ups, as sophomore Phyllis Lin (Acton, Mass.) defeated Allison Schilling (New Canaan, Conn.) and junior Meera Nayar (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) defeated fellow All Seven Sisters honoree Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass.), 11-2, 11-4, 11-5.
Mount Holyoke 9, Smith 0
In the middle match, the Lyons dominated from top to bottom with 3-0 victories straight through. Williamson picked up an 11-1, 11-4, 11-0 victory from the first position, while senior Annie Wong (Oakland, Calif.) cruised to victory at six against Gracie Maull with an 11-1, 11-0, 11-1 win.
Other outstanding efforts included senior Rose Minichiello (Collinsville, Conn.) at seven, who bested Caroline Previte, 11-2, 11-1, 11-5 for the victory. Sophomore Emily Chang (Carmichael, Calif.) also posted a win at five with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 effort over Jin Lee.
Mount Holyoke 5, Vassar 4
The final match of the afternoon saw the Lyons edge the host Brewers to earn their second victory of the season. The key victories for MHC came at the 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 spots. Leading the way was Ryan, who bested Jiamin Wu at three by an 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 margin. First year Lessly Portillo was the victor at four with a 3-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 win, while at five, Chang claimed an 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 win over Cherylan Mucciolo.
Wong battled to a 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 win at six, while Minichiello had an 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 victory at seven over Emma Glickman.
Both Ryan and Wong were named to the All-Seven Sisters Team for their efforts as each went 2-1 on the day.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on February 19 when it travels to Yale University to compete in the 2016 CSA National Team Championships. Action runs through Sunday, February 21.
