SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Amherst College squash team used a dominant effort to best Mount Holyoke College, 8-1, in action on Wednesday evening. With the win, the #18 Purple & White move to 9-7 overall, while the #31 Lyons are now 3-16 on the season.
The match opened up with the even flights, which saw first year Caroline Conway (Weston, Mass./Milton Academy) record an 11-3, 11-6, 11-3 victory over MHC senior captain Allison Shilling (New Canaan, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) at four. From the sixth flight, Amherst first year Jenna Finkelstein (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Academy) bested Lyons sophomore Tanishka Sachidanand (Karnataka, India/Canadian International School), 11-5, 11-7, 11-2.
At eight, junior captain Mae Cromwell (Towson, Md./McDonogh School) made it a 3-0 Amherst advantage with an 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 win over graduate student Rose Minichiello (Collinsville, Conn./Canton). From the second flight, MHC sophomore Ragini Ghose (Dubai/Millfield School) opened with a 14-12 win, but Amherst sophomore Rachael Ang (Singapore/Saint Paul's School) countered with three straight wins for the 12-14, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 victory.
In the switch to the odd flights, sophomore Emma Crowe (Wayland, Mass./Phillips Andover) bested MHC senior captain Amanda Lee (Windsor, Conn./Ethel Walker School) at nine by an 11-2, 11-8, 11-4 margin, while at seven, first year Jenni Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter School) posted an 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 win against MHC junior Emily Chang (Carmichael, Calif./Mira Loma).
At five, first year Katy Sabina Correia (McLean, Va./The Potomac School) had an 11-7, 11-1, 11-2 victory over MHC sophomore Lessly Portillo (New Haven, Conn./Hill Regional Career Magnet), followed by an 11-6, 12-10, 11-6 win by junior Kimberly Krayacich (Chatham, N.J./Chatham Township) over Lyons junior Brandy Williamson (New York, N.Y./Thurgood Marshall Academy) at one.
The match then saw a tough battle from three as Amherst sophomore Priya Sinha (Atlanta, Ga./The Westminster Schools) and Lyons second-year player Nadindhi Udangawa (Colombo, Sri Lanka/Colombo International School) played to five. Sinha grabbed the opening game win, but Udangawa countered to go up 2-1. With the match tied, Udangawa battled past for the final 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6 win.
Mount Holyoke is now idle until Saturday when it hosts the 2017 Seven Sisters Championship. Action kicks-off at 10am as the Lyons host Smith College. Amherst is back on the court at home on Friday, welcoming St. Lawrence at 5pm.