Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Taking the court for the first time since returning from last week's two-match, spring break jaunt to Florida, Bates College visited non-conference foe, Smith College, Friday afternoon where the Bobcats completed an impressive 5-4 victory over the host-Pioneers.
Smith (4-1) opened the contest with a pair of victories in doubles action as the tandem of Miranda Gibson and Sabrina Wang doubled up the Bobcats'
Ava Lyon and
Liv Gidlow, 8-4, at No. 3. Ayla Hauser and Marielle Sauber followed by edgingÂ
Lizzie Frekko and
Iris Westmoreland at No. 1, 8-4, to make it 2-0 Pioneers.
Julia Anderson and
Isabella Saul salvaged the Bobcats' lone doubles point on the day with a quality 8-6 "W" at No. 2 vs. Smith's Clara Goshgarian and Aranne Young, 8-6.
Trailing 2-1 heading into singles play, Saul (6-3, 6-0)Â and Frekko (6-1, 6-4) put Bates ahead, 3-2, with wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively. Hauser erased Anderson by identical 7-5 scores at No.1, followed by an exciting 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory by Goshgarian at No. 2 vs. Westmoreland to put the Pioneers ahead, 4-3.
Ava Steinberger picked the perfect time for her first-career collegiate win as the first-year out of Hockessin, Del. coasted past Smith's Dayana Caluna (6-1, 6-0) to tie the affair at 4-4 overall.
Needing one more point to take home the come-from-behind victory, it would be Lyon that sealed the deal for the garnet and white as the junior from Naples, Fla. dismissed Gibson (6-4, 6-2) at the No. 5 slot.
The Bobcats, now a perfect 12-0 all-time vs. Smith, improves to 1-2 overall with winning effort.
Bates will now move on to Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. as the Bobcats and Lyons square off Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
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