SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - A decisive sweep in doubles action and wins in four of six singles saw the Mount Holyoke College tennis team record a 7-2 win over Nichols College. It was the season opener for both squads.
The Lyons opened the doubles action with a solid 8-2 win in the first flight as sophomore Ayame Yazawa (Tokyo, Japan/St. Johnsbury Academy (Vt.) and first year Ching-Ching Huang (Lukang Township, Taiwan/Taipei Municipal First Girls' HS) bested Nichols first years Amarie Settiwongse (Bangkok, Thailand/The American School of Bangkok) and Danielle Mandel (Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn).
In the second flight, Lyons junior Ishita Tibrewal (Kolkata, India/Modern School for Girls) and first year Catherine Peabody (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding HS) edged out Bison senior Cristina Szepanski (Windsor Locks, Conn./Windsor Locks) and first year Lindsey Kaplan (Boca Raton, Fla./IMG Academy) by an 8-6 margin.
Rounding out the third flight were MHC senior captains Amy Chen (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo) and Alexa Colas (Teaneck, N.J./The Dwight-Englewood School), who defeated NC first years Rachel McDonald (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and Isabelle Leonardi (North Hampton, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas), 8-6.
In singles action, Yazawa was victorious in the first flight against Settiwongse, posting a 6-3, 6-4 score. Huang earned the Lyons another point from the second flight, with a win by retirement against junior Alanna Judd (Westborough, Mass./Westborough).
Peabody grabbed victory for the Lyons from the fourth flight with a 7-5, 6-0 decision against junior Daniela Saldarriaga (Medellin, Columbia/IMG Academy), while MHC's seventh point came in the sixth flight as Chen was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over junior Ashley Dallaire (East Bridgewater, Mass./Archbishop Williams).
Nichols saw Mandel earn the first point in the fifth flight as she beat sophomore Clara Wang (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand), 6-0, 6-4. The match ended with fireworks as Tibrewal and first year Megan Nathanson (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) squared off in the third flight.
Tibrewal grabbed a 6-3 victory to open the match, but Mandel battled back with a 7-6 (7-4) win to even things up. She powered on in the super tiebreaker with a 10-4 win for victory.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it opens NEWMAC play in a Battle of the Lyons, heading East for a 1pm contest at Wheaton. Nichols returned right to action later in the afternoon at Smith College.
