MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Opening play at the Wesleyan Round Robin, the 23rd-ranked Haverford College women's squash team (4-3) split a pair of matches on Friday afternoon, taking a thrilling 5-4 victory over Mount Holyoke before falling by a 9-0 final to the host Cardinals of Wesleyan in the nightcap.
#23 Haverford 5, #32 Mount Holyoke 4
The Fords opened up the weekend stint in the Nutmeg State with a neutral site matchup against the Lyons of Mount Holyoke. Haverford excelled at the top of the ladder, with individual match wins at the second through sixth flights helping to set the tone for a hard-fought win as the Fords were able to overcome the Lyons success at the seventh through ninth positions.
At the second flight, Catherine Fortin was a winner over Xaria Durocher in a back-and-forth five-game thriller. Fortin prevailed in the first two games with relative ease, grabbing 11-5 and 11-6 wins before Durocher rallied to even things at 2-2. Fortin then overpowered her opponent to the tune of an 11-3 win in the decisive fifth game.
At the third flight, Caroline Smith grabbed a straightforward sweep over Ku Paw, surrendering just nine total points to her opponent. Amelia Stevens recorded a sweep at the fifth flight, getting past Tina Mei (11-8, 11-6, 11-2) in straight games. Lyvia Yan was also a winner at the fifth flight, taking down her Lyons opponent in four games after dropping the first, rallying back with consecutive 11-4, 11-4, and 11-6 wins over Barra Montgomery.
Aman Hamdard also logged a crucial tally in favor of Haverford, posting a dominating first-game victory before outlasting Dnyaneshwari Haware by a 12-10 final in the second game and closing things out with an 11-7 win in the clinching third game.
Mount Holyoke's lone tally in the first six flights came from Habiba Abouelatta, as she defeated Ariana Solecki in four games, prevailing 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 to deny the Fords at the top flight.
#27 Wesleyan 9, #23 Haverford 0
Competing against the host Cardinals of Wesleyan, Haverford struggled against a strong challenger as the Cardinals came away victorious at all nine flights at home inside the Rosenbaum Squash center. Wesleyan prevailed in straight games in all but the top flight matchup, where Solecki jumped out to a valiant two games to none lead to open play.
Solecki took both those exhilarating wins in extra points, grabbing a 12-10 victory before a 15-13 triumph in the second frame. The final three games went to Wesleyan's Avika Pande, as Pande responded with a pair of narrow 11-9 victories to tie things up before prevailing in the fifth by an 11-8 final.
Women's Squash now returns to action tomorrow against a common postseason opponent in the NESCAC's Connecticut College Camels. The matchup with the 30th-ranked Camels is slated for a 1 p.m. start and fans can follow live scoring via ClubLocker.