HAVERFORD & CARLISLE, Pa. - A dominant and gutsy effort was at the forefront on Saturday as the Mount Holyoke College squash team split a pair of matches on the road in Pennsylvania. The Lyons posted a 9-0 victory over Haverford College, but shouldered a 9-0 loss to Dickinson in game two, despite six matches going past three games.
With the split, the #29 Lyons are now 3-14 on the season. The #30 Fords move to 1-8, while the #20 Red Devils improve to 6-8.
In the opening match against Haverford, MHC put forth a dominant effort with 3-0 wins in eight of nine matches in the ladder. Senior captain Allison Shilling bested junior Olivia Franco from the fourth position by an 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 margin. From the second spot, MHC sophomore Ragini Ghose posted an 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 victory against first year Kaitilin Reese.
Lyons sophomore Tanishka Sachidanand then grabbed an 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 win over Fords sophomore Mason McNulty, while at nine, MHC senior captain Amanda Lee bested first year Sophia Jackson, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8.
Sophomore Nadindhi Udangawa earned her first win as a Lyon' in an 11-2, 11-3, 11-5 victory over senior captain Isabel Agnew from the third position. Sophomore Lessly Portillo then earned an 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 win against senior Emilia Cobbs at five.
MHC graduate student Rose Minichiello was the victor at eight with an 11-9, 11-4, 11-2 win against sophomore Stephanie Lukez, while junior Brandy Williamson battled back for a 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 win against junior captain Isabelle Gotuaco from the first position.
Junior Emily Chang wrapped up the team win in the final match of the afternoon, besting sophomore Anna Kullnigg, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4.
The second match of the afternoon saw a battle between the Lyons and Red Devils. From the second position, sophomore Domenica Romo posted an 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 win against Ghose. Shilling then battled first year Jaime-Leigh Edghill at four, falling in the opening game 11-1. She countered with an 11-9 victory and the pair traded wins to force game five, but it was Edghill who grabbed the final score for the 11-1, 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 victory.
At six, sophomore Abby Wingerd earned an 11-4, 3-11, 11-4, 11-9 win against Sachidanand, while in the odd matches, the Lyons fought hard. From the first position, sophomore Hedvika Suchankova defeated Williamson, 11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, while from three, sophomore Nicole DeLuca and Udangawa had an outstanding match.
DeLuca went up 11-8, but Udangawa countered with a pair of 11-8 wins to go up 2-1. But the sophomore from Dickinson earned an 11-6 win and carried the momentum to an 11-7 victory in the fifth for the 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 win.
From the fifth spot, sophomore Alanis Perez and Portillo played to a 3-2 score. Perez grabbed the 11-7 win in the first, followed by Portillo with a 12-10 win. The two duked it out, each earning 13-11 wins to tie the match. But it was Perez who earned the 11-7 win to seal the match for a full line score of 11-7, 10-12, 13-11, 11-13, 11-7.
The last 3-2 match of the day came from the seventh position between sophomore Sarah Murphy and Chang. Murphy earned the 11-8 win to open, but Chang countered with 11-8 and 11-4 victories for the 2-1 lead. Murphy won the third 11-9 and carried that momentum into the final game for an 11-6 win (11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6).
Mount Holyoke is now idle until next Saturday when it returns home to host William Smith College at 10am.
