SOUTH HADLEY & NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Mount Holyoke College tennis team concluded action at the 2016 New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT) on Saturday, playing on the campuses of both Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges. The Lyons were paced by a semifinals appearance from senior captain Amy Chen and sophomore Clara Wang.
Playing in the main round of the C draw, Chen and Wang squared off in the morning's quarterfinals against Western New England's Lauren Sell and Morgan Schrader. Chen posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Schrader, while Wang shouldered a 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) loss to Sell. The duo combined to best the Golden Bears pair in doubles, 8-6 to advance to the semifinals.
In the semis, the Lyons faced off against Nichols. Chen notched a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Cristina Szepanski, but Wang suffered a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Lindsey Kaplan. Despite the strong efforts over the weekend, the pair concluded tournament play in doubles, falling to Szepanski and Kaplan by an 8-5 margin.
Mount Holyoke saw additional success in the C draw consolation round as sophomore Madison Rosen and junior Katherine Schumacher combined for victory against Smith. Rosen bested Christine Yee, 6-2, 6-1, while Schumacher defeated Kara Van Allen, 6-1, 6-1. The pair combined for an 8-4 win against the Pioneers duo to advance.
In their next match, Rosen and Schumacher went up against Springfield's Cara Freadman and Rebecca Link. Rosen fell to Link, 6-1, 6-0, while Schumacher shouldered a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Freadman. The pair saw their weekend come to an end in doubles action, falling 8-3.
B draw action saw senior captain Alexa Colas and first year Catherine Peabody in action against Amherst duo Joanna Booth and Kelly Yang in the main draw for the right to move on to the semifinals. Peabody shouldered a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Booth, while Colas suffered a 6-0, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Yang. The duo then lost 8-2 to conclude the weekend.
Wrapping up the weekend play was the A draw pair, who were squaring off in the consolation round against Nichols. MHC first year Ching-Ching Huang fell to Amie Settiwongse, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3), while junior Ishita Tibrewal suffered a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Meg Nathanson. The Lyons went on to post an 8-5 win, but did not advance on points, finishing tournament play.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Wheaton in the NEWMAC Tournament Quarterfinals. Earning the fourth-seed, the Lyons of MHC welcome the fifth-seeded Lyons of Wheaton at 3pm for the right to advance to the NEWMAC Tournament Semifinals. This marks the third straight season that MHC and Wheaton have squared-off in the tournament opener.
