CLINTON, N.Y. – No. 2 seed Bates College women's squash advanced to the final of the NESCAC Championship after defeating No. 7 seed Bowdoin College 7-2 in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Williams College 7-2 in the semifinals on Saturday at the Little Squash Center at Hamilton College.
The No. 12 nationally-ranked Bobcats (11-5) will play top-seeded Trinity College tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. for the league title. The No. 1 nationally-ranked Bantams (10-0) have won the conference crown in all seven years of the tournament's existence.
Bates – the No. 2 seed for the second time ever – beat the No. 20 nationally-ranked Polar Bears (7-11) and the No. 14 nationally-ranked Ephs (13-10) each for the second time this season. The Bobcats topped Bowdoin 7-2 on Dec. 6 and bested Williams 5-4 on Jan. 11. The team fell 9-0 to the Bantams in its season opener on Nov. 23.
Juniors Nessrine Ariffin (Penang, Malaysia) and Myriam Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) held serve at the top of the ladder each winning in straight sets twice on the day on court Nos. 1 and 2, in order.
The bottom third of the Bobcats' ladder proved its mettle as senior Ashley Brooks (Roslindale, Mass.), sophomore Lauren Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe), and first-year Charlotte Cabot (Dover, Mass.) all emerged victorious in both of the team's matchups on the day at the 7-9 spots respectively.
Junior Chloe Mitchell (Chatham, N.J.) and senior captain Rakey Drammeh (New York, N.Y.) earned points for Bates against Bowdoin on court Nos. 5 and 6 respectively while Mitchell and senior Samantha Matos (New York, N.Y.) downed their opponents vs. Williams.
Bates 7, Bowdoin 2 – NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal
Feb. 1, 2014 at Clinton, N.Y. (Little Squash Center)
No. 1 – Nessrine Ariffin (BAT) defeats Rachel Barnes (BOW), 11-3, 11-9, 11-9
No. 2 – Myriam Kelly (BAT) defeats Sarah Nelson (BOW), 11-6, 11-4, 11-1
No. 3 – Michaela Martin (BOW) defeats Samantha Matos (BAT), 11-8, 11-5, 3-11, 13-11
No. 4 – Alden Drake (BOW) defeats Lesea Bourke (BAT), 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5
No. 5 – Chloe Mitchell (BAT) defeats Chloe Polikoff (BOW), 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5
No. 6 – Rakey Drammeh (BAT) defeats Sara Wlodarczyk (BOW), 11-6, 11-6, 11-5
No. 7 – Ashley Brooks (BAT) defeats Christiana Whitcomb (BOW), 11-5, 11-8, 11-2
No. 8 – Lauren Williams (BAT) defeats Emily Simonton (BOW), 11-4, 11-1, 11-4
No. 9 – Charlotte Cabot (BAT) defeats Natalie Laplant (BOW), 11-4, 11-1, 11-4
Ex. – Emma Dunn (BAT) defeats Nicole Ampatey (BOW), 11-1, 11-1, 11-1
Bates 7, Williams 2 -- NESCAC Championship Semifinal
Feb. 1, 2014 at Clinton, N.Y. (Little Squash Center)
No. 1 – Nessrine Ariffin (BAT) defeats Alyssa Northrop (WIL), 11-4, 11-2, 11-8
No. 2 – Myriam Kelly (BAT) defeats Ellie O'Neill (WIL), 11-7, 11-9, 11-1
No. 3 – Samantha Matos (BAT) defeats Caroline Sawin (WIL), 11-9, 12-10, 12-10
No. 4 – Nicole Feshbach (WIL) defeats Lesea Bourke (BAT), 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7
No. 5 – Chloe Mitchell (BAT) defeats Ellen Coombe (WIL), 11-4, 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-8
No. 6 – Lily Grant (WIL) defeats Rakey Drammeh (BAT), 11-7, 11-8, 13-11
No. 7 – Ashley Brooks (BAT) defeats Maria Pylypiv (WIL), 11-8, 11-7, 11-1
No. 8 – Lauren Williams (BAT) defeats Alyssa Ritchie (WIL), 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
No. 9 – Charlotte Cabot (BAT) defeats Charlotte Walsh (WIL), 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8
Ex. – Emma Dunn (BAT) defeats Gibbs Cullen (WIL), 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
