SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 11, 2011) – The Mount Holyoke College women's squash team suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 setback to Amherst College this evening in front of its home crowd. First year Randima Ranaweera, junior Shara Robertson, sophomore Tempest Bowden and first year Katrina Intal earned points for the Lyons, who saw their four match winning streak come to and end. They had prevailed in each of the four previous meetings between the programs.
Amherst (15-6) won three of the first four matches to gain control in the early going. Sophomore Anne Piper got things going with a 3-0 victory over first year Shaheen Madraswala at the number four slot. Intal put Mount Holyoke on the board with a 3-1 win in her number six tilt against junior Anne Scheidt, but the Lord Jeffs rebounded with a pair of 3-2 triumphs by senior Caitlin Demkin and sophomore Chandler Lusardi. Demkin rallied back from a 2-1 deficit in her number eight contest against junior Paulina Rojek, while Lusardi edged senior Vidushi Gurunada at the number two slot in what proved to be the pivotal match of the night.
Robertson cut into Amherst's lead with a 3-1 victory over senior Allie Dalglish at the number three slot, but the deficit was too great to overcome. The Lord Jeffs clinched things with 3-0 wins by first years Lena Rice and Evelyn Kramer. Rice downed sophomore My-Linh Nguyen at the bottom of the ladder, and Kramer topped sophomore Kathryn Brummer at the number seven spot.
The Lyons took the final two matches 3-2. After jumping out to an early 2-0 advantage in her number five tilt against junior Kate Savage, Bowden dropped the next two games before prevailing 11-6 in the fifth. Meanwhile, Ranaweera overcame a 2-0 deficit to win her number one match against senior Hayley Milbourn in thrilling fashion. She pulled out a 14-12 victory in the fifth and deciding game to complete the impressive comeback.
Mount Holyoke (13-9) will round out its regular season slate versus national power Princeton University tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Both squads will then take part in the Women's College Squash Association Team National Championships next weekend. The tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday. All matches will be played at Princeton.
Inside photo by Michael T. Bello - mtbello.com
