SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College squash team was in action on Sunday for senior day for a pair of games against Hamilton College and St. Lawrence University. The Lyons fell 2-7 against the Continentals, and 3-6 against the Saitns With the losses, the Lyons are now 4-7.
In the first match of the day against Hamilton, the Lyons put up a fight, but fell 2-7. Action kicked off in the first round with junior Megan Grip (Wellesley, Mass./Dana Hall School) earning a 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-5) victory at the three spot. Senior Katherine Bauer (Cambridge, Mass./St. George's School (R.I.)) then picked up an 11-2, 11-6, 11-8 win from the six, before junior Lindsay Jadow (New York, N.Y./Nichols School) won 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 at the ninth spot in the ladder to go up 3-0.
Mount Holyoke covered some ground in the second round as junior Ragini Ghose (Dubai/Millfield School) came from behind to take down junior Charlotte Zonis (New Canaan, Conn./Milton Academy (Mass.)) 3-5 (2-11, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5) from the two spot to make it 3-1 in faver of the Continentals. At the five and eight spots, first year Caitlin Stern (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Academy) and Danielle Reisley (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter School) extended the lead, each picking up wins to make it 5-1.
Both senior Grace Munschauer (Buffalo, N.Y./Nichols School) and first year Liesl Guenther (Gladwyne, Pa./St. Paul's School (N.H.)) also had wins from the fourth and seventh spot in the ladder. Senior Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) played well at the top of the ladder, earning a 4-1 (11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8) win over Rafiatou Ouro-Aguy (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career H.S.), but Hamilton took the first match of the day 7-2.
The second match of the day for Mount Holyoke saw St. Lawrence defeat the Lyons, 6-3. The match began with a win from junior Ragini Ghose (Dubai/Millfield School) as she defeated first year Gabrielle Ahrens (Snyder, N.Y./Nardin Academy), 11-7, 11-4, 11-3. The Saints fought back, picking up 3-0 wins at the four and six spots to go up 2-1. From the eight spot in the ladder, Saints sophomore Katie Walsh won a five-set match (15-13, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5) to give St. Lawrence a 3-1 advantage.
At the top of the ladder, Williamson cruised to a 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-2) victory over junior Alex Matamoros Infante, followed by another 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-4) victory for Emily Chang (Carmichael, Calif./Mira Loma) to tie the match at 3-all. The Saints took momentum back, going on to win the next three matches, securing a 6-3 victory for St. Lawrence.
Following today's action, Mount Holyoke is back on the court next weekend with Saturday games at Colby (11am) and Bowdoin (4:45pm), followed by a match at Bates on Sunday (12pm). Hamilton plays at St. :awrence on January 29th (6pm), while the Saints compete next Saturday and Sunday at the 2018 Liberty League Championship at Vassar.
