Box Score SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Smith College tennis team defeated New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponent Mount Holyoke College 7-2 on Tuesday afternoon. The Pioneers improve to 4-4 and 2-2 in conference play while the Lyons drop to 4-5 and 1-2.

The Lyons came out strong on all three doubles courts and really tried to disrupt play for Smith. 

The first point of the day for Smith came in the three doubles position where Miranda Gibson (Bethlehem, PA/Moravian Academy) and Dayana Caluna (Planfield, NJ/College Achieve) played solid doubles. Gibson and Caluna both had great plays up at net to get the 8-3 win. 

In the number two position, Marielle Sauber (The Woodlands, TX/The John Cooper School) and Olivia Monos (Wyomissing, PA/Wilson) were ready to handle anything the Lyons could hit at them. As much as the Lyons tried to disrupt play, the duo from Smith was too steady from the baseline and was making all of the right moves at net to easily secure the 8-4 win. 

In the number three position, the pair of Annika Chai and Jaskirat Kaur from Mount Holyoke came out ready to take on the number one duo from Smith, Lili Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) and Clara Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest). Mount Holyoke quickly neutralized the strengths of the Smith duo and jumped out to a 5-0 lead. At 5-0, the Smith pair readjusted and won the next game. The Smith one team slowly started to claw their way back, but had too much ground to cover and Mount Holyoke closed out the match 8-4 giving their team the first point of the day. 

Smith was up 2-1 going into singles play and Smith came out with incredible energy and was ready to carry the momentum to secure the win for Smith. 

The third point for Smith came in the number three singles position. Sauber's opponent, Shweta Kiravan came out strong hitting winners from every position on the court. Even with her opponent's lights out play, Sauber stayed steady, and battled to take away her opponent's strength. At 4-3, Sauber elevated her level of play, and moved her opponent all over the court. She won the first set 6-3. In the second set, Sauber continued to dictate play keeping her opponent off balanced and cruised to close the set and the match 6-1. 

The fourth point of the day came from the number six position from senior Ashley Felix (El Paso, TX/Americas). Felix played steady tennis against a gritty opponent. The whole time she was on court, she also brought the energy, uplifting her teammates. Felix cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win. 

The match was clinched for Smith in the number two position by Clara Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest). Clara started her match strong, playing very smart and adaptable tennis given the windy conditions. She quickly got the lead and won the first set 6-1. In the second set, Clara's opponent started to find more of her groove and was able to disrupt play a bit more. Clara stayed steady and patient and at 5-4 up in the second she confidently served out the set and the match securing the match win for Smith going up 5 matches to 1! 

The day wasn't done for Smith Tennis, where on the remaining courts everyone continued to battle. In the number 5 position, Alexa Monos (Wyomissing, PA/Wilson) played a very tricky opponent in Kate Vavra. Throughout her match, Alexa stayed steady and dictated play to force errors from her opponent. With high energy the entire time, Alexa closed out her match 6-2, 6-3. 

With two matches left on court, and the sunsetting, play was paused on courts 4 and 1 to move inside. Moving inside allowed Lili Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) in the number one position, and Olivia Monos (Wyomissing, PA/Wilson) in the number four position the opportunity to reset in two close matches. 

In the number 4 position, Olivia Monos (Wyomissing, PA/Wilson) battled the entire time against another gritty player from Mount Holyoke. In the first set, Olivia was able to do what she does best, and got her opponent moving from the baseline to force errors. She closed out the first set 6-4. At 4-4 is when the match was moved inside. Once moving inside, Olivia closed the match out quickly, playing two solid games to get the 7th point of the day for Smith. 

The last match of the day to finish was in the number one position. Lili Goshgarian (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) came out strong against a tough opponent. Lili played incredibly smart tennis to jump to a 6-0 lead and win the first set with ease. In the second set, Annika Chai from Mount Holyoke steadied her game and was able to disrupt Lili's play. After a battle in the second, Chai won the second set. Since Smith had already secured the dual match win, the third set for the number one match would be decided by a 10 point tiebreaker. Chai jumped out to a quick lead in the tie-break. Lili strung some great points together to keep herself in the match, but the deficit was too much to come back from and Chai secured the win in the number one position and the second and final point of the day for Mount Holyoke. 

The 7-2 win for Smith showcased some incredibly smart tennis and great energy. The team looks forward to bringing that same quality of play to their match this Saturday against conference rival Springfield College. 

Up Next
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, April 8 as they host NEWMAC opponent Springfield College at 1 pm. 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, and Instagram.