SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Apr. 14, 2011) – The 2012 Seven Sisters Tennis Championship kicked off today with five matches at Mount Holyoke College. Reigning champion Wellesley College picked up right where it left off in 2011, blanking both Mount Holyoke and Smith College. The Blue will be looking for their 13th tournament title when play resumes tomorrow.
Vassar College also enjoyed a perfect day, posting shutouts against Smith and Bryn Mawr College. Meanwhile, Mount Holyoke cruised to a 5-0 triumph over Bryn Mawr.
With one day in the books, Wellesley and Vassar sit in a tie for first place with 10 points apiece. Mount Holyoke is next with five points, while Bryn Mawr and Smith are both scoreless.
The five team round robin tournament will conclude with five more matches tomorrow.
Mount Holyoke raced to a 5-0 triumph over Bryn Mawr in its first outing of the weekend.
The Lyons were dominant in singles play, taking all three matches in straight sets. Junior Nahrhee Han topped Anna Perocchi 7-5, 6-0, while sophomore Maya Sayarath dropped Jenny Vogel 6-3, 6-1. Mount Holyoke also received an outstanding performance from sophomore Eman Malik, who overpowered Elizabeth Olecki 6-0, 6-2.
It was more of the same in doubles, where the Lyons tacked on two more points to complete the shutout. Sophomore AnnElizabeth Konkel and senior Sarah Moore picked up a hard fought 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Eliza Perocchi and Vivien Chen. Meanwhile, sophomore Kelsey Brower and senior Heather Richardson rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Zoe Odenwalder and Catherine Austin.
This was the fourth season in a row that Mount Holyoke has defeated the Owls in Seven Sisters play.
The Lyons then suffered a 5-0 setback to Wellesley despite strong play by Han, Sayarath and first year Sarah Anischik. Han took SoJung Lee to three sets before falling 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 at number one singles. Meanwhile, Sayarath dropped a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 decision to Kendall Tada at number two. Anischik then came up just short in her number three showdown against Morgan Johnstonbaugh. The match went on for nearly four hours before Johnstonbaugh prevailed by a score of 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Mount Holyoke (7-10, 3-4 NEWMAC) will close out its weekend with two more matches tomorrow. After facing off against Vassar at 10:30 a.m., the Lyons will meet up with Smith at 1:30 p.m.
Day 1 Results (Saturday, April 14)
Match 1: Mount Holyoke College def. Bryn Mawr College, 5-0 (Boxscore)
Match 2: Vassar College def. Smith College, 5-0 (Boxscore)
Match 3: Wellesley College def. Mount Holyoke, 5-0 (Boxscore)
Match 4: Vassar College def. Bryn Mawr College, 5-0 (Boxscore)
Match 5: Wellesley College def. Smith College, 5-0 (Boxscore)
Day 2 Schedule (Sunday, April 15)
9:00 a.m. – Bryn Mawr vs. Smith
10:30 a.m. – Vassar vs. Mount Holyoke
12:00 p.m. – Wellesley vs. Bryn Mawr
1:30 p.m. – Smith vs. Mount Holyoke
3:00 p.m. – Vassar vs. Wellesley
Team Standings (After Day 1)
Vassar College – 10 points
Wellesley College – 10 points
Mount Holyoke College – 5 points
Smith College – 0 points
Bryn Mawr College – 0 points
