Squash Earns Two Wins at Yale Round Robin
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Jan. 19, 2008) - The Mount Holyoke College women's squash team picked up a pair of victories today at the Yale University Round Robin. Both wins came in thrilling fashion. After edging Bates College 5-4, the Lyons downed Bowdoin College 5-4.
In its first match of the day, Mount Holyoke squared off against Bates. Junior Menusha Hettiarachchi (Colombo, Sri Lanka/Holy Family Convent) got things going with a 3-1 win at the number three position. The Lyons received their second point of the day from senior Elizabeth Wright (Lexington, Mass./Phillips Exeter), who battled for a 3-2 triumph in the number six contest. Following a 3-0 loss by sophomore Hillela Simpson (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Academy) at the ninth slot, Mount Holyoke led 2-1.
Bates battled back with two wins of its own in the second round of matches. Sophomore Kasia Kolodziejczak (Storrs, Conn./Pomfret School) suffered a 3-0 setback at the eighth spot, but first year Vidushi Gurunada (Colombo, Sri Lanka/Lyceum Int'l School) won her number two tilt 3-0. Sophomore Laurian Lue Yen (Kingston, Jamaica/St. Paul's (N.H.)) overcame a 2-0 deficit in her number five match before eventually falling 3-2.
The teams entered the third round of matches knotted up at three wins apiece. Bates gained its first lead of the day with a win at the number seven position, where senior Pia Seth (Bombay, India/Cathedral & John Connon) fell 3-0. A 3-0 victory by junior Pamela Anckermann (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Monte Alto) made the score 4-4.
The final outcome of the match came down to the contest between sophomore Laura Robinson (Paget, Bermuda/Saltus Grammar School) and Caroline Lemoine at the number four slot. Lemoine jumped out to a 2-0 edge, but Robinson responded with a 9-6 win in the third game. Robinson cruised from there, taking the last two games 9-1 to clinch things for the Lyons.
Mount Holyoke met up with Bowdoin in its second contest of the day. The Lyons led 2-1 after the first round of matches. Wright suffered a 3-1 setback in her number six contest, but Simpson cruised to a 3-0 win at the ninth spot, and Hettiarachchi came back from a 1-0 disadvantage to take her number three match 3-1.
Bowdoin grabbed two wins in the second round of matches to even things up at three points apiece. Lue Yen suffered a 3-1 setback in the number five battle, and Kolodziejczak sustained a tough 3-2 loss in the eighth slot despite coming back from a 2-0 hole. Gurunada got Mount Holyoke back on track with a 3-1 victory at the number two spot.
In order to secure their second triumph of the day, the Lyons needed to take two of the remaining three points. They trailed 4-3 after a Seth loss at the seventh position. Anckermann defeated her opponent 3-0 in the number one slot, evening the match up at four wins apiece.
The match came down to the wire, with Robinson facing off against Katherine Gormley at number four. Robinson jumped out to a 2-1 advantage, but Gormley refused to go away. She took the fourth game, sending the contest to the limit. Robinson iced things for Mount Holyoke with a 9-3 win in the fifth and deciding game.
The Lyons (7-1) are slated to hit the courts again on Tuesday, when they visit Brown University.
Mount Holyoke def. Bates 5-4
1. Pamela Anckermann (MHC) def. Hannah Laverty (BAT), 3-0 (9-5, 9-2, 9-3)
2. Vidushi Gurunada (MHC) def. Jenny Imrich (BAT), 3-0 (9-3, 9-0, 9-4)
3. Menusha Hettiarachchi (MHC) def. C. Gerrish (BAT), 3-1 (9-1, 9-3, 2-9, 9-6)
4. Laura Robinson (MHC) def. Caroline Lemoine (BAT), 3-2 (6-9, 3-9, 9-6, 9-1, 9-1)
5. Whitney Roller (BAT) def. Laurian Lue Yen (MHC), 3-2 (8-10, 9-6, 7-9, 9-5, 9-3)
6. Elizabeth Wright (MHC) def. S. Blomsteadt (BAT), 3-2 (9-2, 0-9, 10-8, 1-9, 9-7)
7. Margot Webel (BAT) def. Pia Seth (MHC), 3-0 (9-1, 9-3, 9-2)
8. Stephanie Cabot (BAT) def. Kasia Kolodziejczak (MHC), 3-0 (9-3, 9-1, 9-1)
9. Sophie Runquist (BAT) def. Hillela Simpson (MHC), 3-0 (9-0, 9-1, 9-0)
Mount Holyoke def. Bowdoin 5-4
1. Pamela Anckermann (MHC) def. Lauren Gesswien (BOW), 3-0 (9-1, 9-0, 9-3)
2. Vidushi Gurunada (MHC) def. Emilie McKenna (BOW), 3-1 (7-9, 10-8, 9-0, 9-3)
3. Menusha Hettiarachchi (MHC) def. Elena Laird (BOW), 3-1 (6-9, 9-5, 9-0, 9-7)
4. Laura Robinson (MHC) def. K. Gormley (BOW), 3-2 (9-6, 7-9, 9-5, 7-9, 9-3)
5. A. Franceschi (BOW) def. Laurian Lue Yen (MHC), 3-1 (10-8, 9-3, 4-9, 9-4)
6. Jacqueline Deysher (BOW) def. Elizabeth Wright (MHC), 3-1 (9-4, 9-7, 3-9, 9-5)
7. Elizabeth Gillespie (BOW) def. Pia Seth (MHC), 3-0 (9-3, 9-1, 9-0)
8. S. Podmaniczky (BOW) def. K. Kolodziejczak (MHC), 3-2 (9-3, 9-0, 5-9, 7-9, 9-4)
9. Hillela Simpson (MHC) def. Katie Cushing, 3-0 (9-7, 9-6, 9-1)
Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/stories/5520298