SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Powered by a come-from-behind effort from first year Han DK Le, the Simmons College tennis team posted a 5-4 victory over Mount Holyoke College in non-conference action on Monday. The Sharks, who garnered key points with wins in two of three doubles, move to 2-0 overall. MHC slips to 1-1 despite strong victories from the middle of the singles lineup.
Locked in a 4-4 draw, the match came down to the sixth flight as MHC junior Michelle Cai (Hong Kong, China/St. Paul's Co-Educational College) and Le (Weston, Mass./Weston) battled it out under intense sun and temperatures. Cai took the early advantage, pulling out a 7-5 win in the first set, but Le came back strong with scores of 6-1 and 6-2 to win the match and give Simmons the team victory.
The match opened with the Sharks grabbing wins in the second and third doubles. Sophomore Theresa Reinhard (Canton, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas) and junior Rachael Downey (Groveland, Mass./Pentucket) posted an 8-4 win over MHC senior Sarah Anischik (Tolland, Conn./Tolland) and sophomore Amy Chen (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo) in the second flight.
Simmons junior Katie Crowley (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) and sophomore Cathy Baker (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) then gained an 8-6 win over Lyons' sophomore Alexa Colas (Teaneck, N.J./The Dwight-Englewood School) and Cai in the third.
In the singles action, Simmons captured victory in the top two flights as Reinhard defeated junior Margaux Holloschutz (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Saddle River Day School) at one (6-1, 6-4) and Cokely powered past Anischik in two (6-3, 6-1).
The Lyons claimed wins in the third, fourth and fifth flights as sophomore Mira Murali (Fall City, Wash./American International School) gutted her way to a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 win over Downey. First year Ishita Tibrewal (Kolkata, India/Modern High School for Girls), who also posted a first flight victory in doubles on the day, took the fourth flight by a 6-2, 6-2 margin over junior Caroline Khoury (Portsmouth, Ohio/Portsmouth), while Colas posted a 6-0, 6-2 victory against Crowley.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Thursday when it hosts the University of Saint Joseph at 5pm. Simmons is back on the court on Wednesday when it faces Roger Williams at 3:30pm at the Harvard Tennis Courts.
Action photo of Tibrewal courtesy of Doug Keller.
