October 24, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shannon Houlihan
(724) 288-6347
Tennis wins NEWMAC quarterfinal match against Mount Holyoke
Cambridge, MA: The Pioneers defeated Mount Holyoke 5-3 on the courts at MIT, host of the 2009 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament. The win advances the #4 seeded Pioneers to the semifinals on Sunday at 9:30 am, where they will face off against #1 seed Wheaton.
Heavy rain forced the matches indoors, and after MIT defeated Babson in the first quarterfinal, Smith and Mount Holyoke played deep into the evening to determine the winner. The doubles play of Smith provided a huge early lift, as the Pioneers swept all three doubles matches for a 3-0 lead. Juniors Allyson Hawkins (Plainfield, NH) and Margaret Steiner (Madison, CT) teamed up at #3 doubles and played a marathon match against Sarah London and Carly Peltier, eventually prevailing 9-7.
Mount Holyoke gained momentum early in singles play, as Nahrhee Han defeated sophomore Jaimi Inskeep (Warrenville, IL) in #1 singles and Natalie Hsiang defeated sophomore Gianna Teague (Gahanna, OH) at #2 singles. Sophomore Clair Oblamski (Elm Grove, WI) put the team one match away from victory with a win at #3 singles over Sarah Moore. Mount Holyoke rallied back to take the #4 singles match, as Sarah London defeated senior Alanna Dick (Winthrop, ME). Allyson Hawkins provided the winning point for Smith at #5 singles, defeating My-Linh Nguyen for the 5-3 team victory.
Smith faces #1 Wheaton on Sunday morning at 9:30, while #6 MIT faces #2 Wellesley, also at 9:30. The winners of those matches square off in the championship match on Sunday afternoon.
Doubles
1) Jaimi Inskeep/Gianna Teague defeated Nahrhee Han/Sarah Moore, 8-5
2) Alanna Dick/Clair Oblamski defeated Natalie Hsiang/My-Linh Nguyen, 8-5
3) Allyson Hawkins/Maggie Steiner defeated Sarah London/Carly Peltier, 9-7
Singles
1) Jaimi Inskeep lost to Nahrhee Han, 61-6, 4-6
2) Gianna Teague lost to Natalie Hsiang, 1-6, 1-6
3) Clair Oblamski defeated Sarah Moore, 6-1, 6-2
4) Alanna Dick lost to Sarah London, 2-6, 5-7
5) Allyson Hawkins defeated My-Linh Nguyen, 6-4, 6-3
6) Margaret Steiner v. Carly Peltier, 6-4, 1-1 [halted]
