HARTFORD, Conn. -- The No. 19 Bates women's squash team got the NESCAC Championships off on the right foot with an 8-1 victory over No. 25 Tufts Friday night.
With the victory the Bobcats advance to take on second seeded Williams in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Bates dropped a match to Williams in the regular season by a final score of 6-3.
The seventh seeded Bobcats swept seven of the eight matches they won on Friday.
Hannah Conner '18 (Groton, Mass.) won in dramatic fashion in five sets at the No. 7 position. Down two sets to one, Conner came roaring back to take the final sets 11-5 and 11-6 to secure the 3-2 (11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6) victory over Sinclair Meggitt.Â
First-years Krystina Alexova (Boskovice, Czech Republic) and Vicky Arjoon (Georgetown, Guyana) won their matches 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 and 11-2, 11-4, 11-4 at the No. 1 and 2 positions respectively.
Captains Emma Dunn '17 (Bellevue, Wash.), Lauren Williams '16 (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) and Charlotte Cabot '17 (Dover, Mass.) played at the No. 4-6 positions and swept each of their opponents.
Dunn took down Sahana Karthik 11-6, 11-9, 11-6. Williams, the lone senior on the Bobcats, knocked off Lauren Banner 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 and Cabot had no problem with Claudia Udolf in an 11-7, 11-3, 11-3 win.Â
Bates showed off their depth by winning in straight sets at the No. 8 and No. 9 positions as well. Blair Weintraub '18 (New York, N.Y.) won at No. 8 over Chista Irani 11-8, 11-8, 11-5. Meanwhile Natalie Pearson '19 (Ridgewood, N.J.) defeated Isabella Libassi 11-3, 11-7, 11-2.
If Bates can beat Williams Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals, they would then move to the semifinals later that night at 7:30 p.m. to take on the winner of No. 3 Middlebury and No. 6 Hamilton.
Bates 8, Tufts 1
Feb. 5, 2016 at Hartford, Connecticut
1. Kristyna Alexova (B) def. Paget Stanco (T) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4
2. Vicky Arjoon (B) def. Zarena Jafry (T) 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
3. Hannah Burns (T) def. Katie Bull (B) 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-1
4. Emma Dunn (B) def. Sahana Karthik (T) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6
5. Lauren Williams (B) def. Lauren Banner (T) 11-6, 11-6, 11-3
6. Charlotte Cabot (B) def. Claudia Udolf (T) 11-7, 11-3, 11-3
7. Hannah Conner (B) def. Sinclair Meggitt (T) 11-9, 10-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6
8. Blair Weintraub (B) def. Chista Irani (T) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5
9. Natalie Pearson (B) def. Isabella Libassi (T) 11-3, 11-7, 11-2
