NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College squash team won 9-0 at Smith College in the Lyons' 2023-24 season opener and the debut of interim head coach Lauren Xaba.

First-year Sachary Rodriguez Robles (Bronx, N.Y.) set the tone with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-5) victory over Adelaide Esseln while making her collegiate debut at the No. 1 position in Mount Holyoke's lineup. That was one of eight 3-0 victories by the Lyons, who featured four first-year players in their lineup.

Sophomore Tina Mei (Brooklyn, N.Y.), sophomore Ku Paw (Hartford, Conn.), senior Kyla Core (Philadelphia, Pa.), and junior Paige Gershuny (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) all won by 3-0 scores at positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Core was able to compete for the Lyons after missing last season with injury.

Four Mount Holyoke first-years won at positions 6 through 9: Baya Jaiswal (Vaishali, India) by a 3-0 score at 6, Lara Gao (Wuhan, China) by a 3-0 score at No. 7, Amelia Arthur (Palo Alto, Calif.) by a 3-1 score at No. 8, and Katherine Sloop (Houston, Texas) by a 3-0 score at No. 9.

The Lyons (1-0) will next play William Smith College on Sunday Nov. 19 at 11am at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

Mount Holyoke 9, Smith 0
Nov. 11, 2023 at Smith (Northampton, Mass.)

1. Sachary Rodriguez Robles (MHC) def. Adelaide Esseln (SC) 11-4, 11-3, 11-5
2. Tina Mei (MHC) def. Cydney Socias (SC) 11-1, 11-1, 11-3
3. Ku Paw (MHC) def. Nora Zhou (SC) 12-10, 11-2, 11-1
4. Kyla Core (MHC) def. Alyssa Wheeler (SC) 11-5, 11-3, 11-0
5. Paige Gershuny (MHC) def. Silas Murnik (SC) 11-9, 11-3, 11-9
6. Baya Jaiswal (MHC) def. Emilia Neyer (SC) 11-3, 11-7, 11-5
7. Lara Gao (MHC) def. Cyrine Ben Ayed (SC) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4
8. Amelia Arthur (MHC) def. Abbey Green (SC) 11-9, 12-14, 11-5, 12-10
9. Katherine Sloop (MHC) def. Haoyu Qin (SC) 11-5, 11-3, 11-5