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Women's Squash Upsets Yale To Complete Perfect Weekend Road Trip
February 01, 2015 | Women's Squash
Fifth-ranked Princeton went into New Haven Sunday and knocked off the fourth-ranked Bulldogs in a tense, hard-fought 5-4 victory. What does it mean for right now?
Well, above all else, it's a victory over a top rival, which is always nice.
The win probably won't get the Tigers back into the Ivy League race, and it really doesn't alter their current position for the Howe Cup in two weeks; instead of being the fifth seed against fourth-seeded Yale, the Tigers are now in position to be the fourth seed against fifth-seeded Yale.
So, immediately, there really isn't a huge gain. But the big difference could come during that Howe Cup weekend, when Princeton will now have the momentum of its first victory over a Top-4 team since its 2013 Ivy championship season.
"Today's win was a true testament to our team spirit," senior captain Alex Lunt said. "Yale is a strong team and after a long weekend traveling, it took a real effort to get us to our five wins. The top and bottom of the lineup had great showings and the middle had some hard-fought matches that unfortunately swung the other way, but everyone was equally invested."
This year, the Tigers will be a team knowing it can beat a top opponent. And that bit of confidence could be huge.
The Tigers took care of business in all three shifts, starting with a key 2-1 advantage in the opener. Sophomore Alexandra Toth got the ball rolling at the No. 9 spot, where she pulled out a 15-13 win in the first game en route to a 3-0 victory.
Yale earned a win at the No. 6 spot, but Tiger senior Nicole Bunyan continued to prove she was a big-match player with a marathon win at No. 3. She trailed 2-1 before wins of 11-9 and 11-8 to give Princeton the lead.
"Right from the beginning of the first game, I could tell that I was playing a very passive and negative style of game," Bunyan said. "My original game plan wasn't working, and I had to find a way to pull it together and grind it out. In the end, the match came down to fitness and determination.
"As the match wore on, I began to have less and less confidence in my shots but just had to keep reminding myself that this was my match to win, and frankly about how upset I would be if I lost," she added. "Not the most positive mentality, but it did the trick. I felt pretty relieved and could see the same emotion on Gail's face when I hit a frame winner to clinch the match in the fifth."
Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Maria Elena Ubina continued her stellar week with a 3-0 victory over Shihui Mao at the No. 2 spot to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. At that point, the other two matches of the shift were heading into the fifth game.
"Going into the match I knew Mao and I had very similar styles," Ubina said. "Today I focused especially on my movement and deception and that seemed to be the difference."
Tiger freshman Kira Keating showed impressive resolve at the No. 8 spot. She overcame the disappointment of a tight 12-10 loss and battled back for an 11-6 victory to move the Tigers within one of a team victory. Yale held on at No. 5, though; Princeton junior Rachel Leizman battled back from a 2-0 hole, but she fell just short (11-7) in the fifth.
Princeton took the final shift needing only one match, and it still had the potential Ivy Rookie of the Year still to go. Freshman Olivia Fiechter, who has been unbeaten during this loaded week, clinched the team win with an 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 victory over Jenny Scherl.
"This win is a great confidence builder going into Howe Cup," Keating said. "Given that the team wasn't one hundred percent with all of the injuries and sicknesses, the fact that we were still able to pull out a win reflects how strong of a team we are. Hopefully we can use the momentum from this win to finish off the season strong against Cornell and Columbia and then into Nationals."
Yale took the matches at No. 4 and No. 7, though Lunt did have a late highlight with a thrilling 18-16 win in the opening game of her match.
After playing four matches in five days, the Tigers will now be off until Friday, when they celebrate Senior Day against Columbia at 4 pm.
PRINCETON 5, YALE 4
1 – Olivia Fiechter (P) d. Jenny Scherl 7, 8, 7
2 – Maria Elena Ubina (P) d. Shihui Mao 6, 6, 4
3 – Nicole Bunyan (P) d. Issey Norman-Ross (8), 10, (7), 9, 8
4 – Jen Davis (Y) d. Alex Lunt (16), 6, 4, 6
5 – Shiyuan Mau (Y) d. Rachel Leizman 8, 12, (8), (6), 7
6 – Anna Harrison (Y) d. Hallie Dewey (7), 9, 11, 2
7 – Annie Ballaine (Y) d. Tara Harrington 6, 9, 3
8 – Kira Keating (P) d. Jocelyn Lehman (6), 9, 6, (10), 6
9 – Alexandra Toth (P) d. Georgia Blatchford 13, 1, 7