SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Apr. 6, 2013) - The Mount Holyoke College tennis team split action on Saturday, posting a 5-4 victory over Connecticut College before falling to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) by a 7-2 margin. The Lyons move to 8-7 on the season. The Camels are now 2-5, while the Engineers - who are ranked 19th regionally - are now 8-3 overall.
In the morning victory over Connecticut College, the Lyons got strong and clutch performances from its doubles teams as all three captured victory. Leading the way was the first doubles team of AnnElizabeth Konkel (Camp Hill, Pa./Harrisburg Academy) and Margaux Holloschutz (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Saddle River Day School), who won by an 8-6 margin.
The second doubles team of Nahrhee Han (Albertson, N.Y./Herricks) and Eman Malik (Karachi, Pakistan/Karachi Grammar School) rolled to an 8-3 win, while the third pair of My-Linh Nguyen (Potomac, Md./Richard Montgomery) and Sarah Anischik (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) gutted out a 9-7 victory.
Connecticut College rallied in the singles action, capturing four of six flights, but the Lyons won at the fourth flight as Malik posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over first year Charlotte Marcoux (Sudbury, Mass.) and Nguyen defeated Aneeka Kalia (Southborough, Mass.), 6-1, 6-3 in the sixth flight.
The afternoon session saw the Lyons square off with a tough RPI team. The Engineers came out firing in the doubles, claiming all three. Konkel and Holloschutz shouldered an 8-3 loss in the first flight to sophomores Casey Olsen (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) and Amanda Alexander (Houston, Texas/HS for the Performing and Visual Arts).
Olsen carried her success into singles action as she battled with MHC's Han for a 7-5 (7-6), 9-7 victory in the first flight. First year Emily Laurilliard (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and junior Christina Ciamarra (Southington, Conn./Newtown) - both of whom won in doubles - also picked up key victories for RPI. Laurilliard defeated Anischik, 6-1, 6-3 in the second flight, while Ciamarra posted a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Malik in the third.
For the Lyons, Holloschutz and Nguyen each picked up victories in singles, but it wasn't enough as the Engineers won four of six to seal it.
The Lyons return to action next weekend when they compete at the 2013 Seven Sisters Championship, hosted by Vassar College. Action begins on Saturday and runs through Sunday. Connecticut College continued play on Saturday, heading to Smith, while the Engineers host Oneonta on Tuesday at 3pm.
Photo of Malik courtesy of Frank Poulin Sports Photography.
