Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Harvard (Semifinal)
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Tigers Scare Top-Ranked Harvard, Fall 5-4 In Thrilling Howe Cup Semifinal
February 14, 2015 | Women's Squash
Princeton, which lost 7-2 to Harvard during the regular season, pushed the Crimson to the final match, but it just couldn't find a fifth win during the last shift of matches. The Tigers can still improve on its pre-tournament seed when it plays for third place Sunday against the loser of the Trinity-Penn match.
Regardless of the Sunday's result, February has proven to be a very impressive month for the Tigers. After going 0-2 against Yale last year, Princeton has beaten the Bulldogs twice over a two-week span, and it pushed Harvard in Boston closer than it has since topping the Crimson in the 2009 Howe Cup national championship match.
The Tigers got out to the start they were looking for in the opening shift, as both senior Nicole Bunyan (No. 3) and sophomore Alex Toth (No. 9) claimed 3-1 victories. Bunyan won a tight third game 11-9, but found herself trailing Alyssa Mehta deep into the fourth. Bunyan fought off game balls to force a 10-10 tie, then took the final two for the 3-1 victory.
Toth also had to go extra points in a crucial third game, which she won to open a 2-1 lead. Megan Murray pushed her deep into the fourth, but Toth again had the late answers for an 11-9 win.
Harvard picked up a 3-1 win at the No. 6 spot, then added another one at the fifth position to even the match at 2-2. Sophomore Maria Elena Ubina, who was pushed to five games at the No. 2 position Friday, had to go the distance once again versus Katie Tutrone. Ubina trailed 2-1 before winning the fourth and then posting an 11-9 win in the fifth to claim the match and give Princeton the lead.
At the same time, freshman Kira Keating was playing a thriller of her own at the No. 8 spot. After splitting the first two games, Keating topped Julianne Chu in the third and then traded points throughout a highly competitive fourth. Like many of the other games throughout the afternoon, this one went extra points, but Keating scored the final two for a 12-10 win.
Princeton led 4-2 at that point, but Harvard grabbed quick leads in each of the final three matches to regain control. Senior Olivia Fiechter will travel to Jadwin in two weeks to try to join current head coach Gail Ramsay as the only four-time women's collegiate national champion; on Saturday, she remained undefeated in her career with a 3-0 win over Fiechter.
Both Alex Lunt (No. 4) and Tara Harrington (No. 7) were also locked in tough matches. Each went down 2-0 quickly, but both pushed their opponents deep into the third games. Unfortunately, even with extra points, neither could push it to a fourth game, and Harvard escaped with the ticket to the championship match.
HARVARD 5, PRINCETON 4
1 – Amanda Sobhy (H) d. Olivia Fiechter 3-0
2 – Maria Elena Ubina (P) d. Katie Tutrone 3-2
3 – Nicole Bunyan (P) d. Alyssa Mehta 3-1
4 – Michelle Gemmell (H) d. Alex Lunt 3-0
5 – Sue Ann Yong (H) d. Rachel Leizman 3-1
6 – Saumya Karki (H) d. Hallie Dewey 3-1
7 – Dileas MacGowan (H) d. Tara Harrington 3-0
8 – Kira Keating (P) d. Julianne Chu 3-1
9 – Alexandra Toth (P) d. Megan Murray 3-1