LEWISTON, Maine (Jan. 28, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College squash team rolled to a pair of convincing victories over Colby College and George Washington University today at the annual Maine Event. Sophomore Randima Ranaweera, senior Shara Robertson, sophomore Katrina Intal, junior Kathryn Brummer and senior Marie Ozanne recorded two wins apiece to lead the way for the Lyons. They entered the day ranked 13th in the latest CSA National Rankings.
Mount Holyoke (10-5) cruised to an 8-1 win over 21st-ranked Colby in its first outing of the weekend. Intal, Brummer and senior Paulina Rojek got things going with 3-0 victories in the first round of matches. After Robertson topped Molly Parsons 3-1, sophomore Elyse Taylor clinched things with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Emma Beck.
Ozanne and first year Kristina Myren continued the dominance with a pair of shutouts.
Ranaweera then turned in one of her most impressive performances of the season, dropping just 11 points in her number one match against nationally-ranked Kate Pistel.
After securing its eighth straight victory over the Mules, Mount Holyoke travelled to Bates College for a pivotal showdown against 14th-ranked George Washington. With postseason positioning at stake, the Lyons came through in a big way, winning by a score of 7-2.
Brummer, Robertson and Intal each came up with shutouts to set the tone in the early going. Robertson was particularly impressive in her win over nationally-ranked Kelly Barnes. The captain has now prevailed in eight of her last 10 matches at the number two spot.
Needing just two more points, Ranaweera and classmate Shaheen Madraswala each prevailed 3-0 to seal the deal. Ranaweera was once again dominant for the Lyons. After falling behind early in the first game of her match against nationally-ranked Jackie Shea, she rebounded to win in dazzling fashion.
Mount Holyoke's remaining victories came from Ozanne and first year Dachelle Parker. Ozanne closed out her day with another shutout victory. Meanwhile, Parker pulled out a dramatic 3-2 triumph over Becca Imrich in one of the most hotly contested matches of the night. After splitting her first four games, the rookie came out on top 11-9 to seal things. She has gone 8-0 over the first three months of her collegiate career.
With their two wins today, the Lyons solidified their position among teams vying for the Kurtz Cup. They will close out their weekend with matches against Bates (11:00 a.m.) and Bowdoin College (3:00 p.m.) tomorrow.
