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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale (Quarterfinal)
Players Mentioned
Tigers Persevere Past Yale, Will Face Top-Seeded Harvard In Howe Cup Semis
February 13, 2015 | Women's Squash
Keating was one of six Princeton players who won Friday afternoon during the quarterfinal round of the Howe Cup national team championships. That victory will send the fourth-seeded Tigers into a semifinal showdown with top-seeded Harvard, the host of the Howe Cup.
Princeton won each shift by 2-1 scores for its 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Yale, but there were multiple moments of drama throughout the match. Both sides claimed an early 3-0 win, including a victory by Tiger senior Hallie Dewey; two weeks after losing 3-1 to Yale's Anne Harrison, Dewey was dominant in a 3-0 win at the No. 6 spot.
Fellow senior Nicole Bunyan split her first two games at the No. 3 position, but she sprinted out in the third game for an 11-4 win. The fourth game was more of a chore, but she held off Issey Norman-Ross for the 11-8 win.
“I personally knew that I had to change a few things about my game from last time when I played her, when I managed to sneak it out in five games,” Bunyan said. “Today my goals were to stay positive and hit good length to allow me to hit short. I needed to play a slightly more complex game than last time, because my opponent is very good at reading a basic, straight game.
“Overall I felt good today but know that I still have more things to sharpen up for tomorrow against Harvard,” Bunyan added.
The main drama came in the second shift, when it was 2-2 after Yale took a 3-0 win at No. 5. Keating dropped her first game at No. 8, then fought off a game ball in the second to eventually even the match. Simultaneously, sophomore Maria Elena Ubina dropped two games to fall down 2-1 at the No. 2 spot.
At that moment, though, Princeton regained control of the match in superb fashion.
Ubina rolled in her final two games 11-0 and 11-4 to open a 3-2 lead, and Keating fought her way to 2-2, 9-9 in the fifth before winning the final two points. That gave Princeton a 4-2 lead, and senior captain Alex Lunt was already deep into her third game with a 2-0 advantage.
Though Jennifer Davis, who defeated her Princeton opponent two weeks earlier, battled in the third, Lunt was too strong in the end and clinched the team win 11-9.
Freshman Olivia Fiechter added a win at the No. 1 spot to close the match and send Princeton into the semifinal match with Harvard. The Crimson, a 9-0 winner over George Washington Friday, defeated Princeton 7-2 at the Jadwin Squash Courts earlier this season.
All three courts will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, and you can also follow live results via the team Twitter feed, @TigerSquash1.
PRINCETON 6, YALE 3
1 – Olivia Fiechter (P) d. Jenny Scherl 5, 2, 5
2 – Maria Elena Ubina (P) d. Shihui Mao 3, (10), (5), 0, 4
3 – Nicole Bunyan (P) d. Issey Norman-Ross 5, (9), 4, 8
4 – Alex Lunt (P) d. Jennifer Davis 5, 7, 9
5 – Shiyuan Mao (Y) d. Rachel Leizman 6, 7, 6
6 – Hallie Dewey (P) d. Anne Harrison 7, 6, 4
7 – Annie Ballaine (Y) d. Tara Harrington 7, 9, 6
8 – Kira Keating (P) d. Jocelyn Lehman (7), 10, 3, (4), 9
9 – Georgia Blatchford (Y) d. Alex Toth 9, 8, 6