Blue Squash Nabs Second at Seven Sisters; Wellesley Nearly Upsets #20 Mount Holyoke

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College squash team placed second overall at the 2013 Seven Sisters Championship on Saturday at Mount Holyoke. The Blue ended the day with a 2-1 record, recording wins over Vassar and Smith, but narrowly fell to the hosts, who won their seventh straight title.

Wellesley, currently ranked 26th in the College Squash Association, opened the day with a 9-0 sweep over #33 Vassar. The Blue then battled #20 Mount Holyoke, with the Lyons edging out a 5-4 victory. Wellesley then wrapped up the tournament with an 8-1 victory over #36 Smith.

The Blue had little trouble with Vassar, allowing the Brewers to win just two games the entire match. Wellesley had a similiar match against Smith, with the Blue sweeping the two through ninth flights, with 3-0 victories in each.

In what turned out to be the deciding match of the tournament, Mount Holyoke narrowly slipped by Wellesley. The Lyons dominated the top half of the line-up, while Wellesley dominated the bottom. The hosts grabbed wins in the first five flights, with the Blue winning flights six through nine, as well as taking the exhibition at 10. 

Wellesley junior Rosemary O'Connor and first-year Gabriella Wynne earned All-Seven Sisters honors at the event. O'Connor is a three-time All-Seven sisters award winner, while Wynne picks up her first honor. Joining O'Connor and Wynne were Mount Holyoke's Randima Ranaweera, Shaheen Madraswala, and Kathryn Brummer, Vassar's Nancy Zhang and Alex Bowditch, and Smith's Jacqueline Zhou.

There were a number of strong performances throughout the day as several achieved a perfect 3-0 record. Mount Holyoke and Wellesley each saw four players record a perfect mark. The Lyons' undefeated players included Ranaweera, first year Sherouk Khefagy, Madraswala and Brummer. For Wellesley, Alexandra Spiliakos, Haley Vasquez, Emaline Surgenor, and Cara Kaufman all went undefeated on the day.

The Lyons (8-7) are back in action on Wednesday when they host 16th-ranked Amherst at 6pm. Wellesley (6-13) hosts 25th-ranked Tufts on Tuesday at 7pm, while Vassar (6-8) and Smith are idle till next Friday, when they compete at the Division III Nationals, hosted by Bowdoin.

Final Standings
1. Mount Holyoke (3-0)
2. Wellesley (2-1)
3. Vassar (1-2)
4. Smith (0-3)