SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Bates College squash team came out strong in its season opener, posting a 9-0 victory over Mount Holyoke College on Friday evening. The Bobcats move to 1-0, while the Lyons - who opened their home schedule - slip to 2-3 on the season.
Bates came out strong, cruising to a 3-0 lead behind wins at the lower end of the ladder. At eight, sophomore Molly Brooks (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield School) posted an 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 win against junior Kirina Gair-MacMichael (West Hartford, Conn./Ethel Walker School). In the sixth position, sophomore Charlotte Cabot (Dover, Mass./Middlesex School) bested senior Amanda Lee (Windsor, Conn./Ethel Walker School), 11-1, 11-1, 11-2.
From the four spot, first year Eliza Dunham (New Haven, Conn./Taft School) defeated MHC sophomore Lessly Portillo (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career Magnet) by an 11-2, 11-2, 11-3 margin, while from two, first year Luca Polgar (Budapest, Hungary/Hotchkiss School) had an 11-2, 11-8, 11-4 victory over Lyons' sophomore Ragini Ghose (Dubai/Millfield School).
The Bobcats continued to dominate as sophomore Katie Bull (Sudbury, Mass./Middlesex School) notched an 11-2, 11-1, 11-4 win over MHC senior Syry Mitchell (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional). Senior Emma Dunn (Bellevue, Wash./Pomfret School) went on to defeat Lyons' graduate student Rose Minichiello (Collinsville, Conn./Canton), 11-1, 11-2, 11-1, to put the visitors up 6-0.
At three, sophomore Vicky Arjoon (Georgetown, Guyana/St. George's (Mass.) bested MHC senior captain Allison Shilling (New Canaan, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, while from the one spot, Bates sophomore Kristyna Alexova (Boskovice, Czech Republic/Sportovní gymnázium Ludvíka Daňka) notched an 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 win over Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy).
The Bobcats finished up the night at the nine spot as first year Nubia Beasley-Bartee (Chicago, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) recorded an 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 win over MHC junior Emma Lynch (Milton, Mass./Beaver Country Day School).
Mount Holyoke returns to action tomorrow when it travels to Hamilton College to face Wesleyan (3:30pm) and the host Continentals (5:30pm). Bates is also in action on Saturday, traveling to Trinity College to face the Bantams (11am).
