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Women's Squash Captures 2009 Ivy Crown With 5-4 Thriller Over Harvard
February 08, 2009 | Women's Squash
Facing a determined and unbeaten Harvard squad with an Ivy League championship at stake, Princeton counted on some of its most experienced members, as well as one of its newest faces, to come away with a thrilling 5-4 victory at the Jadwin Squash Courts. The win is Princeton's 10th on the season and clinches the program's fifth Ivy League title overall and second in three years.
Playing a two-round format, Princeton and Harvard were even at 2-2 after the even matches. Princeton got a victory from senior tri-captain Maggie O'Toole, who had to retire during Saturday's match with Dartmouth after getting hit. After splitting the first two games, she went on to claim wins of 9-3 and 9-5.
The remainder of the even matches all went five games. Tiger junior Neha Kumar overcame a 2-1 deficit, including a 10-9 loss in the third game, and sprinted past Nirasha Gurgue 9-3 and 9-1 in the final two games to give Princeton its second win.
"It was a tough match against Guruge, going to five games, and I had to stay focused to come back in the match to win it," Kumar said afterwards. "I was down 2-1 in games after losing a tight third game 10-9. I knew after that I would have to mentally regain my focus and confidence to stay in the match. I focused on blocking out the pain in my arm and having confidence in my lob-drop game, shots and fitness. I stepped on court in the fourth game and did just that and was able to come out of the match victorious. I've been out with a wrist-elbow-shoulder injury for most of the season so I'm very happy I was able to mentally focus and play well today against a strong opponent."
Harvard fought valiantly to get two wins of its own; at the No. 4 spot, Emily Park took down Princeton's Kaitlin Sennatt 9-2 in the fifth game, while at the No. 8 spot, Cecelia Cortes rallied from an 0-2 hole to get past Nikki Sequeira. The fourth game would be the closest; Cortes held off Sequeira, who has proven to be one of Gail Ramsay's most consistent players in her first varsity season, by a 10-9 score.
Five matches were left to decide the outcome, with the eventual Ivy League champion needing to win three of them. Princeton got it done in convincing fashion, sweeping the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 9 matches to earn the perfect regular season. Amanda Siebert, playing at the No. 1 spot, allowed only seven points to June Tiong in a 3-0 win; Siebert cranked it up after the first game and dropped only three points in the final two games.
Junior Emery Maine, who clinched the team national title for Princeton last year, swept Alisha Mashruwala 9-4, 9-4, 9-3 at the No. 3 spot, and freshman Katie Giovinazzo, the only rookie on the varsity nine, pulled out a 9-6, 9-6, 9-4 victory over Alexandra Zindman.
Even the Princeton players that lost in the second shift played courageous matches. Sophomore Jackie Moss held a 2-1 lead at No. 5 before falling to Katherine O'Donnell, and senior tri-captain Aly Brady split the first four games with Johanna Snyder before falling 9-5 in the fifth.
Regardless, that loss didn't dampen the spirits of Brady, who came up with a big victory in an early-season victory over the second-ranked Penn Quakers. In fact, the four players who lost matches to Harvard all won against Penn, so each can feel like they truly had a hand in the championship.
"I could not be more proud of my teammates," Brady said. "I unfortunately lost in five games and didn't have my best day. Each and every one of us left everything on the court and that's as much as anyone can ask for. Now we have to focus in and practice hard to push through one last weekend. It's going to be a challenge
but today we proved to ourselves they we can do this and we deserve it after all the hard work we've put in this season."
That last weekend that Brady is referring to is the Howe Cup championship weekend, which could potentially find Princeton facing Harvard one more time. The three-day team championship will be held in Cambridge, and Princeton will be the first seed. The Tigers are the two-time reigning national champions, a run that began with a 6-3 victory over Harvard in the 2007 final.
Check back with GoPrincetonTigers.com later this week for a full preview of the Howe Cup.
PRINCETON 5, HARVARD 4
1) Amanda Siebert (P) d. June Tiong 4, 0, 3
2) Neha Kumar (P) d. Nirasha Gurgue 7, (6), (9-10), 3, 1
3) Emery Maine (P) d. Alisha Mashruwala 4, 4, 3
4) Emily Park (H) d. Kaitlin Sennatt 7, (0), 2, (4), 2
5) Katherine O'Donnell (H) d. Jackie Moss 1, (4), (6), 3, 5
6) Maggie O'Toole (P) d. Bethan Williams 7, (4), 3, 5
7) Johanna Snyder (H) d. Aly Brady (5), 6, (7), 7, 5
8) Cecelia Cortes (H) d. Nikki Sequeira (7), (6), 3, 10-9, 1
9) Katherine Giovinazzo (P) d. Alexandra Zindman 6, 6, 4