SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Mount Holyoke College squash team captured the 2017 Seven Sisters Championship today at the MHC Squash Courts. After battling to 9-0 and 8-1 victories against Smith College and Wellesley College, the Lyons bested Vassar College by an 8-1 margin to secure the crown. MHC entered the weekend ranked 31st in the most recent CSA National Rankings.
Mount Holyoke College snapped Wellesley's run of three-straight Seven Sisters titles, winning their first since 2013 and their ninth overall.
The Lyons were followed in the final standings by 27th-ranked Wellesley (2-1), 27th-ranked Vassar (1-2) and 33rd-ranked Smith (0-3). Senior captains Allison Shilling and Amanda Lee, along with graduate student Rose Minichiello represented the Lyons on the All-Tournament Team. Joining the trio was Eva Mullarkey and Rhea Advani from Wellesley, Hannah Nice and Jiamin Wu from Vassar and Leah Jeon from Smith.
There were a number of strong performances throughout the day as several achieved a perfect 3-0 record on the day. Mount Holyoke saw six players record a perfect mark, including Shilling, Lee, Minichiello, junior Emily Chang and sophomores Tanishka Sachidanand and Nadindhi Udangawa. Wellesley's Eva Mullarkey and Vassar's Hannah Nice also posted a 3-0 mark on the day.
Mount Holyoke opened the day with a 9-0 victory over Smith College, heading into action with Wellesley in the middle match with confidence. The battle between the Lyons and the Blue turned into a decisive match as MHC finally snapped a three-game skid against Wellesley in Seven Sisters action.
In the 8-1 win, the Lyons opened in dominant fashion with a 4-1 advantage. Shilling's victory in the fourth flight sealed the win as she bested Ruby Feng in four games. Lee won in three-straight games against Audrey Fok at nine (11-6, 11-7, 11-4) to take the match. Junior Brandy Williamson then swept to a 3-0 victory over Meera Nayar at one, earning one of five 3-0 sweeps for the hosts. Udanagawa at three, Lessly Portillo at five, Sachidanand at six and Chang at seven all secured 3-0 wins for the Lyons.
The Lyons final match against the Brewers saw MHC on the brink of its eighth title. Bolstered by its win over Wellesley, Mount Holyoke saw sophomore Ragini Ghose at two, Portillo at five, Chang from the seventh spot and Minichiello at eight all grab 3-0 wins. Vassar battled back as Nice grabbed the win at the top of the ladder, but strong efforts, including a five-game win by Sachidanand at six secured the title.
The Lyons (6-16), Brewers (10-4) and Pioneers (3-11) are now idle until February 24th when they travel to Princeton, N.J., to compete at the 2017 CSA National Team Championships, hosted by Princeton University. The Blue (6-10) will host Boston College on Wednesday (7pm) before also heading to Princeton for the CSA Championships..
Final Standings
Mount Holyoke (3-0)
Wellesley (2-1)
Vassar (1-2)
Smith (0-3)
Final Results
Match 1: Mount Holyoke College def. Smith College, 9-0 (Results)
Match 2: Wellesley College def. Vassar College, 5-4 (Results)
Match 3: Vassar College def. Smith College, 9-0 (Results)
Match 4: Mount Holyoke College def. Wellesley College, 8-1 (Results)
Match 5: Mount Holyoke College def. Vassar College, 8-1 (Results)
Match 6: Wellesley College def. Smith College, 9-0 (Results)
All-Tournament Team
(Featured in photo below)
Allison Shilling, Mount Holyoke
Amanda Lee, Mount Holyoke
Rose Minichiello, Mount Holyoke
Eva Mullarkey, Wellesley
Rhea Advani, Wellesley
Hannah Nice, Vassar
Jiamin Wu, Vassar
Leah Jeon, Smith
