PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Mount Holyoke College squash team fell by a somewhat deceptive 8-1 score to Haverford College Friday night in the first round of Epps Cup play at the College Squash Association Team Nationals, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.

Sophomore Paige Gershuny (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) won Mount Holyoke (7-13) its lone point with a five-game victory over Clarice Xu at the No. 8 position.

The Lyons dropped painfully close 3-2 decisions at both of the top two positions in their lineup: first-year Habiba Abouelatta (Alexandria, Egypt) against Ariana Solecki at No. 1, and junior Xaria Durocher (Boston, Mass.) against Catherine Fortin at No. 2. Senior Dnyaneshwari Haware (Mumbai, India) played toe-to-toe in the first two games with Maisie Smith at No. 6 but couldn't prevail in either, and fell 3-0.

Mount Holyoke is now slated to face Vassar in consolation play on Sunday at 11am at Drexel University.

Haverford 8, Mount Holyoke 1
CSA Team Nationals | Epps Cup First Round
Feb. 17, 2023 at Penn (Philadelphia, Pa.)

1. Ariana Solecki (H) def. Habiba Abouelatta (MHC) 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8
2. Catherine Fortin (H) def. Xaria Durocher (MHC) 11-4, 9-11, 15-13, 11-13, 11-8
3. Caroline Smith (H) def. Ku Paw (MHC) 11-1, 11-5, 11-5
4. Amelia Stevens (H) def. Tina Mei (MHC) 14-12, 11-2, 11-1
5. Emilia Zegers (H) def. Dnyaneshwari Haware (MHC) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4
6. Maisie Smith (H) def. Elba Barra Montgomery (MHC) 11-5, 11-2, 11-7
7. Aman Hamdard (H) def. Janiqua Davis (MHC) 11-2, 11-3, 11-5
8. Paige Gershuny (MHC) def. Clarice Xu (H) 12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 5-11, 11-7
9. Amy Saxon (H) def. Keying Lin (MHC) 11-3, 11-6, 11-0