THE MATCHUP: 
Mount Holyoke gets the new year underway with a pivotal match against 12th-ranked Middlebury College this afternoon (4:30 p.m.) in front of its home crowd. The Lyons will enter the match ranked 13th in the latest CSA National Rankings. Last season, they upset the Panthers 6-3 in the opening round of the CSA National Championships after falling 7-2 earlier in the year. They prevailed in all three five-game matches to pull off the impressive turnaround. Match Program
THE LYONS: Mount Holyoke (6-3) enters this afternoon's match on a hot streak following four straight victories. After rolling to convincing wins over William Smith College, Smith College and Cornell University at the Wesleyan Round Robin, the Lyons secured an 8-1 triumph over Wesleyan on December 8. Shaheen Madraswala has posted an overall record of 7-2 to lead the way. Mount Holyoke has also received solid production from Randima Ranaweera, who has gone 6-2 at the top of the lineup. Newcomer Dachelle Parker has prevailed in all five of her matches thus far. Meanwhile, Kathryn Brummer, Katrina Intal and Paulina Rojek have recorded five wins apiece.
THE PANTHERS: After falling in each of its first four matches this season, Middlebury (3-4) bounced back with consecutive wins over Colby College and Bowdoin College this weekend at the Yale University Round Robin. The Pathers also defeated George Washington University earlier this morning. From top to bottom, their lineup typically features Elena Laird, Abby Jenkins, Kathryn Bostwick, Charlotte Dewey, Anne Wymard, Amanda Chen, Annie Ulrich, Lindsay Becker and Molly Hubbard.
NEXT UP: Mount Holyoke is slated to host the annual Pioneer Valley Invitational next weekend. Both men's and women's teams will compete in the event, which is scheduled to begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, approximately 40 matches will take place on the campuses of Mount Holyoke, Smith College and Amherst College. Middlebury will return to action next Sunday, when it visits Williams College for a NESCAC match beginning at 2:00 p.m.
