SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Powered by a dominant singles effort and victories in two of three doubles, the Mount Holyoke College tennis team bested Springfield College, 7-2 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Lyons improve to 9-8 and 2-3 in conference play, while the Pride are now 9-3 and 2-2 in the NEWMAC.
The Pride opened the match with the early lead as senior Emily Etter (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) and junior Rachel Ahlmeyer (Morris Plains, N.J./Morristown) posted an 8-4 win over Lyons senior Joy Maran (Santa Fe, N.M./Santa Fe Prep) and sophomore Anya Gerasimova (Salem, Ore./West Salem) at third doubles.
Mount Holyoke battled right back, tying things up at 1-all as senior Ayame Yazawa (Tokyo, Japan/St. Johnsbury Academy (Vt.)) and junior Ching-Ching Huang (Lukang Township, Taiwan/Taipei Municipal First Girls' HS) powered their way to an 8-5 victory over senior Melissa Parrish (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and rookie Juliette Piazza (Portland, Conn./Mercy) from one.
The Lyons' second doubles pair of junior Catherine Peabody (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding) and rookie Annissa Aamoum (Dulles, Va./IMG Academy) then made it a 2-1 advantage with an 8-5 win over Pride junior Cara Freadman (Richmond, Mass./Monument Mountain) and first year Rielly Malz (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury).
Singles action saw Springfield open with a victory to tie the match once more as Parrish posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Yazawa from one. It would be the only loss in singles for the Lyons as Aamoum rebounded at five to take the lead with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Ahlmeyer.
At four, Gerasimova notched a tight 7-5, 6-1 win against Malz, while Huang sealed the match victory at two with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Freadman. Peabody was next to finish, earning a 6-2, 6-2 win against Etter from three.
The match finished at six as MHC rookie Hannah Middleton (Stonington, Conn./Stonington) and Piazza battled it out. Middleton took the opener 7-5, but Piazza countered with a 6-1 win. It came down to a full third set, which saw Middleton earn the win, 6-1.
Mount Holyoke is now idle until April 16 when it travels to Clark University for a 4pm contest. Springfield is back on court Saturday, traveling to Wellesley for an 11am tilt.
