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Women's Squash Nearly Stuns Top-Ranked Harvard, Falls 5-4 In Cambridge
January 16, 2012 | Women's Squash
The Princeton women's squash team came within one point of a stunning upset at top-ranked Harvard Sunday afternoon at the Murr Center in Cambridge, Mass. While the match ultimately went to the top-ranked Crimson, Princeton left knowing that it has the talent to ultimately compete for the national team championship next month.
Tied at 4 in the team score, all eyes were on the #4 match between Princeton sophomore Lexi Saunders and Harvard freshman Haley Mendez. Saunders raced out to a 2-0 lead and twice had match ball, but Mendez held on in two marathon games to push the match to five, where she used the momentum to run away with an 11-3 win.
Princeton (5-2, 1-2 Ivy) needed a strong start against the undefeated Crimson (11-0, 3-0), and it couldn't have asked for much more Sunday. The Tigers swept the first shift, starting with a 3-0 win for sophomore Libby Eyre at the No. 3 spot.
"I thought I came out really strong," Eyre said. "I had played [Nirasha Guruge] before and she has a tough game to play against, but I knew if I fought hard, I could still win."
Classmate Caroline Feeley won three games by matching 11-8 scores to earn a 3-1 win at No. 9, and freshman Nicole Bunyan rallied from an opening loss for a 3-1 win at the No. 6 spot.
"Caroline came out really well today," head coach Gail Ramsay said. "I thought Caroline was really consistent and kept the ball tight. She played some controlled, deliberate squash today."
"Nicole was able to wear her opponent down and force some errors," Ramsay added about her talented freshman. "She made some great gets and covered the court really well. She played a great match in four tough games."
Former individual national champion Laura Gemmell got Princeton on the board with a 3-0 win over Princeton senior Katie Giovinazzo at the No. 2 spot, and teammate Natasha Kingshott scored a hard-fought 3-1 win over Tiger freshman Hallie Dewey at No. 5.
Princeton did manage one match from the middle shift, and it came from gutsy junior Casey Cortes. One dat after winning a five-game marathon at Dartmouth, Cortes took care of business in three games over Julianne Chu at the No. 8 spot. Cortes' first two wins came by 11-9 scores, and she finished the match with an 11-6 win.
"I thought that was a really great win for Casey," Ramsay said. "She really played a smart game, and she was able to use her opponent's pace against her. She really moved her around."
That left Princeton needing only win in the final shift, but Harvard was prepared for the challenge. It doesn't hurt that the Crimson sent out one of the Top 20 players in the world at the No. 1 spot. Freshman Amanda Sobhy, in only her second collegiate match, scored a 3-0 win over Julie Cerullo, who entered the season ranked third nationally. Cerullo had entered the match with an undefeated record, but the 2010 Junior world champion and five-time winner on the WISPA tour was too much.
Princeton sophomore Alex Sawin went down to the wire with Harvard junior Sarah Mumanchit in the first two games of their match at No. 7, but Mumanchit had the late answers in both and ultimately claimed a 3-0 win. That left the match up to the No. 4 spot, where Saunders led 2-0 after wins of 11-9 and 13-11. Mendez fought off two match balls in the third game and came back with wins of 13-11 and 14-12 to even the match. She finally gave Harvard the win with an 11-3 victory in the fifth.
Princeton will now break for finals before starting a five-match homestand during the first weekend of February. The Tigers will play three matches that weekend, starting Friday night against Stanford and featuring a Saturday afternoon match against defending national champion Yale.
#1 Harvard 5, #4 Princeton 4
1) Amanda Sobhy (H) d. Julie Cerullo 6,3,4
2) Laura Gemmell (H) d. Katie Giovinazzo 4,5,3
3) Libby Eyre (P) d. Nirasha Guruge 9,3,10
4) Haley Mendez (H) d. Lexi Saunders (9),(11),11,12,3
5) Natasha Kingshott (H) d. Hallie Dewey 6,(8),10,9
6) Nicole Bunyan (P) d. Cece Cortes (7),9,4,9
7) Sarah Mumanchit (H) d. Alex Sawin 12,10,1
8) Casey Cortes (P) d. Julianne Chu 9,9,6
9) Caroline Feeley (P) d. Eliza Calihan 8,(5),8,8