NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Mount Holyoke College squash team captured the 2018 Seven Sisters Championship today on the courts of Smith College. After battling to 9-0 win over Wellesley, the Lyons took on Vassar in the championship match, posting a 7-2 victory to secure the crown. MHC entered the weekend ranked 28th in the most recent CSA National Rankings.
It marked the second straight Seven Sisters title for the Lyons and their 10th in program history.
The other matches during the day saw Vassar defeat Smith by a 9-0 margin, while Wellesley bested the homestanding Pioneers, 9-0 in the consolation match. Senior captains Brandy Williamson and Emily Chang, along with junior Lessly Portillo represented Mount Holyoke on the All-Tournament Team.
In the opening match against the Blue, the Lyons earned a clean sweep across the ladder. From the top spot, Williamson bested Eunbie Coe by an 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 margin. Junior Ragini Ghose defeated Jill Mankoff at two, 11-4, 11-4, 11-2, while from three, Chang earned an 11-7, 11-7, 11-2 victory over Meredith Curry.
Portillo was an 11-9, 11-8, 11-3 victor over Lumi Kinjo at four, while from five, rookie Jennifer Mbah posted an 11-5, 11-1, 11-2 win over Jackie Ehrlich. From the sixth position, first year Kuzivakwashe Madungwe defeated Kaycie Wong, 11-2, 11-1, 11-0. At seven, Nicole Lara Granados recorded an 11-2, 11-1, 11-3 win against Sabrina Valcin, while from eight, fellow rookie Emma Robson earned an 11-0, 11-0, 11-2 win against Isabela Valencia. Rounding out the match at nine was first year Genesis Lara Granados, who defeated Jinyon Donna Gan, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1.
The championship match saw the Lyons face off against the Brewers for the second time this season. MHC made a statement with seven straight wins to open action. Portillo got things going at four with an 11-5, 11-8, 14-12 win against Allie Pilkington. Ghose made it a 2-0 advantage from the second spot with a hard-fought, 11-13, 12-10, 11-1, 11-5 victory over Vassar's Sydney Nemphos.
Moving the Lyons to 3-0 was Nicole Lara Granados, who posted an 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-6 win against Kelly Rissman. From three, Chang earned her second win of the day with an 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 victory over Min Wu. Robson then earned the match-winning margin from nine, securing the Lyons fifth point with an 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 win against Julia Pollack.
Mbah then powered her way to an 11-5, 11-8, 14-12 win against Samantha Henderson at five, while Madungwe was an 11-8, 12-10, 15-13 winner at sixth over Cheryl Mucciolo.
Vassar earned its first point from seven as Emma Glickman gutted out an 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8 win against MHC's Tanishka Sachidanand. The Brewers closed out the match with a hard-earned win at one from Hannah Nice. After posting an 11-9 win after the first, Williamson bounced back to tie it up with an 11-7 win. The two players traded wins until the fifth set when Nice pulled out the win. Their full match score was 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-8.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Wednesday in a 6pm match at Amherst to close out their regular season action.
