SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Despite a number of hard fought efforts, the Mount Holyoke College squash team was unable to get past Wesleyan University, falling by a 7-2 margin in the opening match of the 2016 Pioneer Valley Invitational. The 27th-ranked Lyons slip to 3-6 on the season, while the 20th-ranked Cardinals are now 4-2 overall.

Junior Amanda Lee posted one of the first points for the Lyons in the ninth position as she battled to a 3-2 victory over Ellen Paik. After opening the first game with an 11-9 win, Lee found herself in a tie after Paik notched a 15-13 second game victory. The match eventually went to a fifth game, which saw Lee cruise to the 11-2 win. The line score of the win was 11-9, 13-15, 11-7, 10-12, 11-2.

First year Ragini Ghose also had an outstanding effort from the third position as she notched 3-2 win over Wesleyan's Bridget Doherty. Her match, much like Lee's was a back-and-forth battle that saw Ghose earn wins in the first and third games before Doherty battled back to force a fifth game. She held strong, gutting out the 11-6 win for the victory. The line score was 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-6.

The Lyons did see a number of valiant efforts on the afternoon, but the Cardinals proved to be too strong.

Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it faces Dickinson at 8am on the MHC Squash Courts. The Lyons will round out the day with a 5pm game against Hamilton, also at home.

Matches at this year's Pioneer Valley Invitational continue throughout Sunday at three different locations. To view the complete schedule, click HERE.