CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Senior Kate Loftus (Portland, Ore.) earned a 3-0 victory at number eight but it wasn't enough, as Wellesley College squash suffered an 8-1 setback to Bowdoin College on Saturday afternoon at MIT.

Wellesley, up to a program-best ranking of 22 in the latest College Squash Association poll, ends the first semester with a 4-3 overall record. Bowdoin, the number 18 team in the nation, is now 3-2 overall.

Loftus withstood a second game push from Bowdoin sophomore Zoe Wood (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) to secure the 3-0 win. The Blue senior opened with an 11-6 triumph and followed with 13-11 and 11-5 wins to take the match.

The Polar Bears swept to victories in all but one of the remaining match-ups. Wellesley junior Ruby Feng (Old Lyme, Conn.) rallied after dropping the first game, 11-5, to first year Mariela Mendoza to take an 11-8 victory in the second game. However, Mendoza captured 11-1 and 11-6 victories in the next two games to secure the only four-game win of the match.

Wellesley will host Saint Lawrence in the team's next outing on January 17, 2016. The match is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Dana Hall School's Shipley Center. Bowdoin will also open next semester against the Saints, when they host a match on January 8 at 7:30 PM.