SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 9, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College tennis team claimed victory in all three doubles matches and went on to post wins in each of the six singles for a 9-0 victory over Smith College in NEWMAC action on Tuesday evening. With the victory, the Lyons move to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Pioneers slip to 0-5 on the season and in the NEWMAC.
The final scores were deceiving in the doubles action as the Pioneers battled hard. Up by a 4-1 margin in the first flight, Mount Holyoke's pair of Nahrhee Han (Albertson, N.Y./Herricks) and AnnElizabeth Konkel (Camp Hill, Pa./Harrisburg Academy) saw their lead slip slightly as Haruka Shimoto (Tokyo, Japan/International School of the Sacred Heart) and Bayla Weick (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity) pushed it to a 4-3 game. The Lyons countered for the 8-4 victory.
Mount Holyoke went on to win each of the other flights, including an 8-0 victory in thirds as Margaux Holloschutz (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Saddle River Day School) and My-Linh Nguyen (Potomac, Md./Richard Montgomery) improved to 6-1 on the season with a win over Smith's Jana Chan (San Francisco, Calif./The Bay School) and Lindsay Roth (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern).
Singles action saw a tough battle in the second flight as Konkel pulled out a 7-5 victory in the first set over Seema Samawi (Damascus, Syria/King's Academy) before rolling to a 6-0 win for the final margin.
Additionally, Mount Holyoke's Eman Malik (Karachi, Pakistan/Karachi Grammar School), Maya Sayarath (St. Johnsbury, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) and Holloschutz all improved to 6-1 in singles action. Malik posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over the Pioneers' Kyle Gouchoe-Hanas (Durham, N.C./Carolina Friends), while Sayarath was a 6-1, 6-2 winner against Ashley Burke (Weston, Mass./Weston). Holloschutz defeated Roth, 6-0, 6-1.
The Lyons and Pioneers both return to action this weekend when they participate in the New England Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament. The event, which will be hosted by Mount Holyoke, Smith and Amherst, begins on Friday and runs through Sunday.
