Amherst, Mass. - November 22, 2019 - The Mount Holyoke College squash team earned their first win of the 2019-20 season on Friday afternoon as the Lyons defeated St. Lawrence, 5-4, at the Davenport Squash Courts on the campus of Amherst College. With the win, the Lyons, which were ranked No. 22 in the latest Collegiate Squash Association (CSA) National Rankings, improve to 1-1 on the year while the Saints fall to 0-3.

The Lyons got the first point of the day when sophomore Maeve Watts-Roy (Louisville, Ky.) took down Kat Leiva (Lawrence, Mass.), 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-9) at the No. 3 position. After dropping matches at No. 6 and No. 7 to fall behind the Saints, 2-1, first-year Janiqua Davis (New Haven, Conn.) prevailed over Arelis Arellano Flores 3-2 (11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-2) to even things back at two apiece.

At No. 2, Nadindhi Udangawa (Depanama, Sri Lanka) outlasted Makyla Kelley (Chicago, Ill.) in a five-set battle 3-2 (11-8, 4-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-6) to give the Lyons a 3-2 lead, before St. Lawrence kept pace with a win at the No. 5 slot. 

Junior Emma Robson (Amherst, Mass.) then rallied for a 3-1 (11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5) win over Samantha Sambrook (Montreal, Quebec) at No. 8 to once again give Mount Holyoke College the lead. Kuzivakwashe Madungwe (Harare, Zimbabwe) had a hard-fought battle at No. 4 but dropped a 3-2 (15-13, 11-13, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6) decision to Starnisha Ramsey (Detroit, Mich.).

Coming down to the final point at the No. 1 spot, standout sophomore Mihiliya Methsarani (Panadura, Sri Lanka) defeated Sanna Koivumaki 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9). 

Up next, the Lyons will play its first home match of the season at the MHC Squash Courts on Saturday, November 23 as they host No. 2 Trinity at 12 p.m.

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