SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College tennis team opened with a strong doubles effort en-route to an 8-1 win over Springfield College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening.
With the win, the Lyons extend their win streak to three, moving to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Pride saw their six-match winning streak come to an end and are now 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the NEWMAC.
MHC's second doubles team of senior captain Alexa Colas (Teaneck, N.J./Dwight-Englewood School) and first year Catherine Peabody (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding HS) got the Lyons on the board, posting an 8-3 win over Pride sophomore Emily Etter (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) and first year Cara Freadman (Richmond, Mass./Monument Mountain).
First doubles wrapped-up soon after as Lyons sophomore Ayame Yazawa (Tokyo, Japan/St. Johnsbury Academy (Vt.) and first year Ching-Ching Huang (Lukang Township, Taiwan/Taipei Municipal First Girls' HS) bested senior Rachel London (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Port Jefferson) and sophomore Melissa Parrish (Framingham, Mass./Framingham), 8-2.
In the third flight, MHC senior captain Amy Chen (Hilo, Hawaii/Hilo) and sophomore Clara Wang (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) edged out Springfield junior Rachel Litchfield (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) and senior Nicole Piazza (Portland, Conn./Mercy), 8-6.
Holding a 3-0 lead, the Lyons grabbed the 4-0 advantage as Chen notched a 6-0, 6-1 win against Piazza. The Pride got a point back from the fifth flight as Freadman recorded a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lyons sophomore Madison Rosen (Portland, Ore./Grant), but MHC countered from the first flight as Yazawa posted a 6-0, 6-3 win against London for a 5-1 lead.
Huang then captured a 6-4, 6-1 win at two over Springfield's Parrish, followed by a win from Lyons' junior Ishita Tibrewal (Kolkata, India/Modern High School for Girls), who bested Etter, 6-2, 6-1 at the third flight. Peabody capped the evening with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Litchfield.
Mount Holyoke hits the road on Saturday at Babson, while Springfield is at Wellesley. Both matches, which begin at 11am, mark the final regular season NEWMAC matches of the fall.
