Squash rolls past Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley on final day of regular season

Dnyaneshwari Haware had a 3-0 day in the middle of Mount Holyoke's lineup as the Lyons rolled past Smith, Vassar and Wellesley on Feb. 11, 2023. (RJB Sports file photo)

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The Mount Holyoke College squash team went 3-0 on the final day of the regular season, defeating Smith (9-0), Vassar (8-0) and Wellesley (8-1) on Saturday at Vassar College.

The Lyons (7-12) will next compete at the College Squash Association Team Nationals, held Feb. 17-19 at the University of Pennsylvania. Tournament draws are to be announced.

Mount Holyoke surrendered only one point on the day and earned all but six of its team points in straight games.

The Lyons had no trouble sweeping Smith for the third time this season in their first match of the day. Against Vassar, first-year Habiba Abouelatta (Alexandria, Egypt) cruised to another victory at the No. 1 position over Sehar Dey-Kohli. The Lyons had to fight harder for their wins at positions 2 through 4. Junior Xaria Durocher (Boston, Mass.) was pushed into extra points in two out of three games at No. 2 by Adriana Ordaya, while at 3 and 4, first-years Ku Paw (Hartford, Conn.) and Tina Mei (Brooklyn, N.Y.) both won in four games, respectively.

Wellesley also made for a deceptively close match despite the final score. Paw came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Lily Wancewicz in five games at 3, while Durocher, Mei, and senior Janiqua Davis (New Haven, Conn.) all prevailed in four games to win at 2, 4, and 7, respectively.

Going undefeated individually for Mount Holyoke on its big day were Abouelatta, Durocher, Paw, Mei, senior captain Dnyaneshwari Haware (Mumbai, India), senior captain Elba Barra Montgomery (Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania), senior captain Janiqua Davis (New Haven, Conn.), and sophomore Paige Gershuny (Cape Girardeau, Mo.).

Mount Holyoke 9, Smith 0
Feb. 11, 2023 at Vassar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
1. Habiba Abouelatta (MHC) def. Adelaide Esseln (S) 11-0, 11-0, 11-1
2. Xaria Durocher (MHC) def. Kaia Cormier (S) 11-2, 11-3, 11-2
3. Ku Paw (MHC) def. Zoe Kruse (S) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6
4. Tina Mei (MHC) def. Allyson Tutay (S) 11-0, 11-1, 11-1
5. Dnyaneshwari Haware (MHC) def. Ciana Socias (S) 11-1, 11-1, 11-1
6. Elba Barra Montgomery (MHC) def. Nora Zhou (S) 11-1, 11-6, 11-5
7. Janiqua Davis (MHC) def. Alyssa Wheeler (S) 11-2, 11-6, 11-4
8. Paige Gershuny (MHC) def. Emilia Neyer (S) 11-2, 11-1, 11-3
9. Keying Lin (MHC) def. Vicky Xu (S) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4

Mount Holyoke 8, Vassar 0
Feb. 11, 2023 at Vassar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
1. Habiba Abouelatta (MHC) def. Sehar Dey-Kohli (V) 11-2, 11-3, 11-4
2. Xaria Durocher (MHC) def. Adriana Ordaya (V) 12-10, 11-3, 12-10
3. Ku Paw (MHC) def. Mariya Novosad (V) 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9
4. Tina Mei (MHC) def. Sophia Choudhri (V) 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4
5. Dnyaneshwari Haware (MHC) def. Chloe Vaiman (V) 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
6. Janiqua Davis (MHC) def. Charlotte Banigan-White (V) 11-8, 11-4, 11-4
7. Paige Gershuny (MHC) by default
8. Keying Lin (MHC) by default
9. No contest

Mount Holyoke 8, Wellesley 1
Feb. 11, 2023 at Vassar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
1. Habiba Abouelatta (MHC) def. Miraya Gupta (W) 11-7, 11-7, 11-2
2. Xaria Durocher (MHC) def. Sophia Puertas (W) 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8
3. Ku Paw (MHC) def. Lily Wancewicz (W) 9-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
4. Tina Mei (MHC) def. Zhirou Lian (W) 11-4, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7
5. Dnyaneshwari Haware (MHC) def. Anjali Aralikar (W) 11-2, 11-2, 11-5
6. Elba Barra Montgomery (MHC) def. Sofia Rubio (W) 11-5, 11-4, 11-2
7. Janiqua Davis (MHC) def. Mingrui Ma (W) 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-2
8. Paige Gershuny (MHC) def. Yutong Wu (W) 11-5, 11-5, 11-1
9. Patience Carbajal (W) def. Keying Lin (MHC) 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-8