CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 16 nationally ranked Bates women's squash team mounted an impressive battle against No. 9 Dartmouth on Friday, with the top-seeded Big Green prevailing 6-3 in the quarterfinal round of Kurtz Cup (B Division) play at the College Squash Association Team Nationals.

The Bobcats put up a strong effort against the highly favored Big Green, improving by a point upon the teams' last meeting, a 7-2 Dartmouth win at Dartmouth on Jan. 25. 

Bates (10-11) drops into the consolation half of the Kurtz bracket, and will face No. 13 Middlebury Saturday at 9am, at Harvard. The rival Panthers defeated the Bobcats 7-2 this past Sunday in the third-place match of the NESCAC Women's Squash Championships.

Seniors Nessrine Ariffin (Penang, Malaysia), Myriam Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.), and junior Lauren Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) scored Bates' points. Ariffin was a repeat winner at the No. 1 position over Dartmouth's Jacqueline Barnes, winning 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8). Kelly was a repeat winner over Dartmouth's Victoria Dewey at the No. 2 matchup, scoring a 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8) victory.

Williams downed Oona Morris at the No. 6 position in straight games (11-4, 11-9, 12-10), after falling in a 3-2 battle on Jan. 25 against a different opponent at No. 6.

Dartmouth 6, Bates 3
CSA Team Championships | Kurtz Cup Quarterfinals
Feb. 13, 2015 at Harvard

1. Nessrine Ariffin (B) def. Jacqueline Barnes (D) 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8)
2. Myriam Kelly (B) def. Victoria Dewey (D) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8)
3. Lydie McKenzie (D) def. Lesea Bourke (B) 3-1 (11-6, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5)
4. Helena Darling (D) def. Chloe Mitchell (B) 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-9)
5. Sarah Caughey (D) def. Charlotte Cabot (B) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-7)
6. Lauren Williams (B) def. Oona Morris (D) 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 12-10)
7. Zainab Molani (D) def. Sarah Miller (B) 3-0 (11-0, 11-0, 11-2)
8. Rebecca Brownell (D) def. Blair Weintraub (B) 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-1)
9. Madeline Fraser (D) def. Emma Korein (B) 3-0 (11-4, 11-0, 11-3)