SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College tennis team posted an opening sweep of doubles and carried the momentum into singles action to defeat Wheaton College, 9-0 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams. With the victory, MHC improves to 2-0 overall, while Wheaton is now 0-2 on the young season.
The win for Mount Holyoke was the first regular season victory over Wheaton since 2012, when it posted a 5-4 win. It also marked the first time in program history that MHC has defeated Wheaton by a 9-0 score.
The homestanding Lyons made a big statement to open the match as junior Alexa Colas (Teaneck, N.J./The Dwight-Englewood School) and sophomore Ishita Tibrewal (Kolkata, India/Modern HS for Girls) cruised to an 8-0 win over seniors Caroline DiNoicola-Fawley (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro Union) and first year Connor O'Keefe (Lutz, Fla./George M. Steinbrenner) in the second flight.
Junior Amy Chen (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo) and first year Madison Rosen (Portland, Ore./Grant) then powered their way to an 8-5 win in the third flight, defeating sophomore Arielle Klopsis (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and first year Francisca Secor (Waterford, Conn./Waterford)
Mount Holyoke's first flight team of senior captain Margaux Holloschutz (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Saddle River Day School) and first year Ayame Yazawa (Tokyo, Japan/St. Johnsbury Academy) then pulled out the doubles sweep with a 9-7 (7-4) victory against junior Amanda Brazell (Las Vegas, Nev./The Meadows School) and senior Izzy Gorham (Durham, N.H./Oyster River).
In singles action, senior captain Michelle Cai (Hong Kong, China/St. Paul's Co-Educational College) defeated O'Keefe by a 6-1, 6-1 margin at six, while Colas posted a 6-3, 6-0 win against senior Stassy Furber (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) at four. Tibrewal went on to claim the third flight with a 6-1, 6-1 win over DiNicola-Fawley, while in the fifth, first year Clara Wang (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) was a 6-0, 6-2 winner against senior Caroline Stanclift (Camden, Maine/Cushing Academy).
Holloschutz went on to win 6-3, 6-2 over Gorham, while a hard-fought battle finished the match in the first flight. Yazawa recorded a 6-3, 7-6, (7-4) win over Brazell.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Monday, traveling to Simmons for a 12pm match. Wheaton is back on the courts next Saturday in a 1pm NEWMAC match at Springfield.
