THE MATCHUP: It's a battle of the Lyons as Mount Holyoke opens its NEWMAC schedule this weekend, hosting the Lyons of Wheaton College. In the all-time series, Wheaton holds a 28-11-1 advantage, including victories in each of the last six matches.
THE LYONS: Mount Holyoke (1-
1; 0-0 NEWMAC) steps back onto the court for the first time since September 3 - a narrow 5-4 loss to Simmons at the MHC Tennis Courts. The Lyons have been paced this season by solid efforts from Margaux Holloschutz and My-Linh Nguyen at third doubles. The pair are currently 2-0, helping the MHC doubles pairings to a 4-2 overall record. In singles action, juniors Eman Malik and Maya Sayarath are both 2-0 in the fourth and fifth flights, respectively. Hollowschutz has also been solid at sixth singles, posting a 2-0 mark. In the Lyons last match, the Sharks came out firing to open the doubles action, taking two of three for the advantage heading into singles. MHC battled back with wins in the fourth, fifth and sixth flights, but could not overcome the deficit as senior captain Nahrhee Han shouldered a tough loss in the first flight, falling 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-1.
THE LYONS: Wheaton (1-0, 0-0 NEWMAC), which plays at Nichols on Friday evening, enters this weekend's action with a 1-0 record after defeating Simmons, 6-3 in the season-opener. Last season, Wheaton notched a 4-3 record in the NEWMAC, good enough to earn the Lyons a home match in the league tournament's opening round. In the tourney, they defeated Mount Holyoke before falling to eventual champion Wellesley. Head coach, Lynn Miller, who enters her 33rd year with the women, welcomes back all but one of the team's six starters from last spring, which includes a pair of all-conference players. Wheaton ended the spring ranked 19th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional poll.
NEXT UP: Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday, September 22 as it travels to MIT for a 1pm match. Wheaton is also in action on the 22nd, hosting Springfield at 12pm.
