Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn (Quarterfinal)
Players Mentioned
Youthful Charge Powers Tigers Past Penn 7-2 And Into Howe Cup Semifinal
February 18, 2011 | Women's Squash
The biggest question facing the fifth-seeded Princeton women's squash team in Friday's Howe Cup quarterfinal surrounded its trio of freshmen that took the court first against the fourth-seeded Penn Quakers. Would their first experience in the team national championships be a show of inexperienced mistakes or youthful energy?
The answer: Youthful energy 3, inexperienced mistakes 0.
A first-shift sweep by No. 3 Libby Eyre, No. 6 Alex Sawin and No. 9 Caroline Feeley led the Tigers to a 7-2 victory over Penn to avenge a 5-4 regular season loss to the Quakers. The win sends Princeton into Saturday's 2 p.m. semifinal, which will likely be against top-seeded Yale (the Bulldogs take on No. 8 Dartmouth in a later quarterfinal).
"I loved that we were coming out together," said Sawin, who fought back in the fifth game to defeat Courtney Jones 3-2. "These are two of my best friends at the school, and we know we're going to be fighting together for all four years. We lost a lot of great seniors last year, so we have big shoes to fill."
They started filling those shoes quickly, with Feeley controlling her match at No. 9 for a 3-0 win over Hyland Murphy. Sawin saw her 2-1 match lead turn into a fifth-game deficit, but she kept the pressure on Jones and took over the match with a late run.
That left Eyre, who had lost her regular season match 3-1 to Annie Madeira, to try finishing the shift sweep. Filled with confidence and bolstered by a home crowd cheering enthusiastically on all three courts, Eyre raced out to a 2-0 lead and then held an advantage in the fourth. Madeira, the lone senior on a tough Penn squad, battled back to push the match into extra points.
"Every time I lost a point there, I just took a couple breaths to calm down," said Eyre, who battled through a long fourth before finally taking the match. "I needed to have a little more confidence than I did the first time I played her. The home crowd really helped."
Princeton had held a 4-1 lead on Penn during the regular season, so it knew that there was no time to rest. Sophomore Casey Cortes put Princeton on the brink with a 3-1 win over Chloe Becker at the No. 8 spot. Cortes forced long points and moved her opponent around before putting her away in a tough fourth game.
That left a pair of senior co-captains racing to clinch the match and send Princeton back into the Howe Cup semifinal. Both Jackie Moss (No. 2) and Nikki Sequeira (No. 7) held 2-0 leads in their respective matches and were chipping away in the third. Sequeira battled back from a deficit in the third game to take a 9-7 lead when the crowd on Court 1 exploded for Moss' match-clinching win.
"The freshmen came out with a lot of confidence," said Sequeira, who clinched her win two points later. "When your team gets up early and is playing hard, it makes you want to get out there and play. We'd rather be the underdogs. We feel like we can do this."
Princeton added one more victory, as sophomore No. 1 player Julie Cerullo avenged her regular season loss to Nabilla Ariffin with a 3-1 victory. Junior Katie Giovinazzo nearly added another victory, but she dropped a fourth game in extra points and then the fifth game to Pia Trikha. Tiger freshman Lexi Saunders lost the final match 3-0 to Yarden Odinak.
#5 PRINCETON 7, #4 PENN 2
1 - Julie Cerullo (Pr) d. Nabilla Ariffin 3-1
2 - Jackie Moss (Pr) d. Rachael Goh 3-0
3 - Libby Eyre (Pr) d. Annie Madeira 3-1
4 - Yarden Odinak (Pe) d. Lexi Saunders 3-0
5 - Pia Trikha (Pe) d. Katie Giovinazzo 3-2
6 - Alex Sawin (Pr) d. Courtney Jones 3-2
7 - Nikki Sequeira (Pr) d. Stephanie Vogel 3-0
8 - Casey Cortes (Pr) d. Chloe Becker 3-1
9 - Caroline Feeley (Pr) d. Hyland Murphy 3-0