Bates sophomore Myriam Kelly finished out CSA Individual Nationals with her fourth straight win on Sunday, as she claimed victory in the Holleran Division (B Draw) First Round Consolation Bracket championship match. Kelly outdueled the evenly-matched Sarah Loucks of Dartmouth in the final two of five long games, prevailing by a final score of 11-9, 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9.
Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) combined with sophomore All-American Nessrine Ariffin (Penang, Malaysia) and sophomore Chloe Mitchell (Chatham, N.J.) to go 5-5 overall in CSA Individual Nationals this season. Two weeks ago at CSA Women’s Team Nationals, Bates finished with a No. 10 national ranking, beating Williams and Middlebury en route to the Kurtz Cup finals, where they lost to Dartmouth.
Kelly won both of her matches on Saturday, defeating Brigitte Tousignant of St. Lawrence in the bracket quarterfinals by a convincing 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5) score, then moving on to play Melina Turk of Dartmouth in the bracket semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Kelly posted another 3-1 win over Turk, by roller-coaster 14-12, 5-11, 11-2, 12-10 decision. On Friday, Kelly met Annie Ballaine in the first round of the Holleran Division, and Ballaine came out on top in three games, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5. Kelly moved to the First Round Consolation Bracket and faced Shaheen Madraswala of Mount Holyoke. Kelly stayed alive there with a three-game win over Madraswala, 11-8, 11-3, 11-9.
Kelly already seems accustomed to success at CSA Individual Nationals. As a rookie a year ago, Kelly, a two-time All-NESCAC honoree, advanced to the Holleran Second Round Consolation semifinals.
