Tennis opens spring season, beats American International College

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics.
Shweta Kiran Cavale ’23 defeated her American International College opponents in both her doubles matches and her singles matches on Feb. 25.

By Lauren Leese ’23

Staff Writer

Mount Holyoke Tennis launched its spring season with a match against American International College on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Lyons defeated the Yellow Jackets 6-3, obtaining three of their points by default. A second game against Eastern Nazarene College was originally scheduled for the same day but was postponed.

In the No. 1 doubles match, AIC bested Annika Chai ’25 and Jaskirat Kaur ’26 with a score of 8-3. The No. 2 doubles match saw Shweta Kiran Cavale ’23 and Cal Smith ’26 score an 8-3 victory over the Yellow Jackets. The No. 3 match defaulted to the Lyons.

Kiran Cavale and Smith both won their singles matches, with Kiran Cavale scoring 7-5 and 6-1, and Smith scoring 6-1 and 6-2. Chai’s and Kaur’s singles matches went to a third round, where their AIC opponents secured victory.

Smith spoke about the atmosphere of the competition, and how even the Lyons who couldn’t play due to a lack of opponents brought team spirit to the game.

“Tennis is often regarded as a quiet sport, but there is nothing like the feeling of your team cheering you on after a good point,” Smith said. “Kate Vavra [’26], whose match was unfortunately forfeited by AIC, really led the team in energy, bringing pom poms and her always impressive team spirit. The whole team brought an amazing energy that I was proud to be a part of.”

Kiran Cavale expressed optimism about the competitions ahead. “Initially, I was quite nervous to come back after the off-season to play a match but I think it went much better than I anticipated,” she said. “The team has been working very hard during the practice and I believe that everyone is very committed to helping us have an amazing season.”

Mount Holyoke Tennis will compete in their next match at Bates College on March 15.