Princeton University
Harvard
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Women's Squash Completes Perfect Season With 7-2 Win, Outright Ivy Title
February 11, 2007 | Women's Squash
The dream regular season for the Princeton women's squash team ended in style Sunday afternoon, as the top-ranked Tigers defeated Harvard 7-2 at the Jadwin Squash Courts to complete a perfect season with an outright Ivy League title. Princeton raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back to claim the program's fourth league crown. The Tigers will look to cap one of its greatest seasons ever next weekend at the Howe Cup Championships in New Haven, Conn.
"Without a doubt everyone played great today," head coach Gail Ramsay said afterwards. "I still think they can take their play up another level, but considering all of the pressure and how much this meant to them, they played really tough and determined squash."
Princeton, which will enter next weekend as the tournament's top seed, built a 4-0 lead after the first series of matches. No. 6 Casey Riley and No. 8 Carly Grabowski both won in three games, while No. 2 Neha Kumar and No. 4 Gen Lessard were both locked in battles. The Crimson could have evened the match at 2 with both wins, but neither would go its way.
Kumar cruised in the first two games, winning 9-1 and 9-0, but opponent Jen Blumberg battled back with 9-6 and 9-7 victories. That momentum grew in the fifth game, as the Harvard veteran built a 4-0 lead in the decisive contest. Those would be her last points of the match, which Kumar claimed with a 9-0 win.
"She was down 4-0 there but rallied back by implementing a perfect shot selection and keeping Jen off-balance and struggling to every ball," Ramsay said. "It is Neha's best win to date."
While Kumar's match see-sawed one way, Lessard's seemed to be going the other. One of four Princeton seniors in the starting lineup, she dropped her first two games 9-0 and 9-6 and was on the verge of a 3-0 loss, but she won the critical late points to pull out a 10-9 win in the third and added a 9-5 victory in the fourth. While Kumar's match went to the victor of the first two games, Lessard made sure this one would be different; her 9-3 win made sure every ounce of momentum was firmly in Princeton's corner. It was a fitting win for a senior who has battled injuries, but has never lost her focus or her determination; those qualities helped push her through to the key fourth win.
Princeton was able to clinch the team win and the outright Ivy title quickly in the second session, as No. 5 Ali Pearson, yet another member of the talented Class of 2007, defeated Lydia Williams 9-0, 9-1, 9-6 to end the match. "Ali Pearson played some flawless games against a tough opponent in Lydia Williams," Ramsay said. "Ali never let up and keep the pressure on her and just discouraged her as the match wore on."
Princeton added a win from freshman Kaitlin Sennatt at No. 9 and senior Marilla Hiltz at No. 7, while Harvard claimed wins at No. 1 by Kyla Grigg and at No. 3 by Supriya Balsekar, who outlasted Amanda Siebert in yet another five-game thriller.
"Marilla stumbled in the first game, but once she got her confidence back she was able to dominate the front and back court, and she never let O'Donnell get her rhythm back," Ramsay said. "Kaitlin Sennatt also kept her attack game active. She handled the pressure well today, and she was very solid."
Princeton ended its regular season 8-0, 6-0 in the Ivy League, and will begin competition for the 2007 national team title Friday against an opponent to be determined. GoPrincetonTigers.com will have a full preview of the Howe Cup Championships later in the week.
PRINCETON 7, HARVARD 2
1 - Kyla Grigg (H) d. Claire Rein-Weston 9-2, 9-7, 9-1
2 - Neha Kumar (P) d. Jen Blumberg 9-1, 9-0, 6-9, 7-9, 9-4
3 - Supriya Balsekar (H) d. Amanda Siebert 5-9, 1-9, 9-6, 9-7, 9-4
4 - Gen Lessard (P) d. Audrey Duboc 0-9, 6-9, 10-9, 9-5, 9-3
5 - Ali Pearson (P) d. Lydia Williams 9-0, 9-1, 9-6
6 - Casey Riley (P) d. Johanna Snyder 9-7, 9-2, 9-5
7 - Marilla Hiltz (P) d. Katherine O'Donnell 7-9, 9-2, 9-0, 9-3
8 - Carly Grabowski (P) d. Charlene Neo 9-4, 9-0, 9-1
9 - Kaitlin Sennatt (P) d. Sandra Mumanachit 9-4, 9-2, 9-7