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Coming Off Trinity Thriller, Women's Squash Ready To Challenge For Howe Cup
February 23, 2016 | Women's Squash
HOWE CUP BRACKETS
The journey to the Howe Cup has been building for weeks, perhaps months, but it's been a quiet one for Princeton. While Harvard and Penn shared most of the national attention this season, the Tigers quietly grinded away.
It was quiet until last Saturday, at least. When senior Rachel Leizman finished off a thrilling 5-4 win over fourth-ranked Trinity in the Jadwin Squash Courts, the roar was palpable, and the message was sent. The Tigers aren't going to New Haven, Conn., this weekend just to complete their season.
They're hunting for a national championship.
The top teams in college squash will compete this weekend for the 2016 Howe Cup national championship at Yale. Selected matches will be streamed on the Ivy League Digital Network, though you will need to tune in daily to see which ones are available. GoPrincetonTigers.com will have nightly updates as the team seeks its 18th Howe Cup title.
So how does the week shape up for Princeton?
The Tigers will open play Friday at noon against sixth-seeded Stanford, who Princeton defeated 7-2 earlier this season — ironically enough — at Yale.
Should form hold in the quarterfinals, Princeton will get the rematch it hoped for against second-ranked Penn. The Quakers have been dominant throughout most of the season; Penn's lone loss came at top-ranked Harvard, and it earned an 8-1 home win over Princeton in late January.
The Tigers have reason to be optimistic that they can flip that result. The match won't take place on Penn's home court, and the regular season showdown was Lindsay Scott's first match back from injury. Just last year, the Tigers turned a regular season loss into a postseason win, though this Penn team looks significantly stronger than the 2015 one.
But Princeton went into the January match at Penn coming off a 9-0 loss to Harvard (more on them in a bit). This time, the Tigers will be coming off a six-match win streak, including the dramatic win over Trinity. There will be a different feel, a different confidence to this Tiger squad.
As for Harvard?
The reigning Howe Cup champions went 10-0 this season, and they went 84-6 in individual matches. The Crimson have won ever match in February by the same 9-0 score.
But the great thing about being the 3-seed is this. If Princeton plays Harvard, it's probably going to be for the national championship. And if the Tigers get there, then they'll do so in a pressure-free situation where they can go for broke and see what happens.
It's a situation they would love to create, and it's one they took a big step towards last weekend, and in all the work over the last few weeks.
Now it's time to see how much magic they can create.