SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Fourth-seeded Mount Holyoke College claimed a 5-0 victory over fifth-seeded Wheaton College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Tennis Tournament quarterfinal round on Wednesday afternoon at the MHC Tennis Courts.
Mount Holyoke (8-3, 5-3 NEWMAC) will take on No. 1 MIT (8-0, 8-0 NEWMAC) in the Semifinal round of the NEWMAC Tournament on Saturday, October 25 at 11:30 a.m. on the campus of MIT. Wheaton's fall season comes to a close at 5-7 overall (4-4 NEWMAC).
At the conclusion of doubles play, Mount Holyoke held a 3-0 advantage as the No. 1 pairing of senior Margaux Holloschutz (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Saddle River Day School) and first-year Ayame Yazawa (Tokyo, Japan/St. Johnsbury Academy) defeated seniors Izzy Gorham (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) and Caroline DiNicola-Fawley (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro Union) by an 8-2 score.
MHC's No. 2 pairing of junior Alexa Colas (Teaneck, N.J./The Dwight-Englewood School) and sophomore Ishita Tibrewal (Kolkata, India/Modern High School for Girls) earned an 8-2 win over seniors Caroline Stanclift (Camden, Maine/Cushing Academy) and Stassy Furber (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier), while the third flight duo of junior Amy Chen (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo) and first year Madison Rosen (Portland, Ore./Grant) earned a hard-fought 9-7 victory over Wheaton first years Connor O'Keefe (Lutz, Fla./George M. Steinbrenner) and Francisca Secor (Waterford, Conn./Waterford).
In singles action, Holloschutz turned in a 6-0, 6-2 decision over DiNicola-Fawley at the No. 2 and senior Michelle Cai (Hong Kong, China/St. Paul's Co-Educational College) sealed the Mount Holyoke victory with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6.
With the win, Mount Holyoke will be making its second straight appearance in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinal round, having earned a 5-2 win against Wheaton last year in Norton. That year, the Lyons also faced MIT. Additionally, it marks the sixth time in program history that MHC has advanced to the Semifinals. The Lyons previously appeared in the NEWMAC Tournament Semifinals in 2014, 2006, 2005, 1999 and 1992.