Wednesday, January 31
Philadelphia, Pa.
5:00 PM
Princeton University
6
at
3
Penn
Photo by: David Keating
Top-Ranked Tigers Claim First Win At Penn Since 2006, Stay Perfect With 6-3 Victory
January 31, 2018 | Women's Squash
Senior co-captain Kira Keating had no idea it had been 12 years since the Princeton women's squash team had left the Ringe Squash Courts in Philadelphia with a win over Penn, but she was thrilled to break that streak during a so-far magical 2017-18 season.
The top-ranked Princeton Tigers won three matches in each of the two shifts Wednesday night to remain undefeated with a 6-3 win at Penn. Princeton improved to 10-0 with the win, 3-0 in the Ivy League, and it set up the biggest match of the regular season Saturday at noon when it heads to Boston to face reigning champion Harvard.
Princeton, which moved to No. 1 following a wild 5-4 comeback win over Trinity before finals, did a good job in maintaining that energy in its first match after the break. The Tigers took three of the first four matches on court, all by 3-0 scores, to keep the home energy from getting strong for Penn.
Junior Samantha Chai improved to 9-1 on the season with a dominant effort at #4, and Keating remained perfect with a sweep at #7. Freshman Emme Leonard answered the call in the biggest road match of her young career, fighting out a couple close finishes in a 3-0 win at #6.
Penn claimed a win at #2, and followed with a strong effort at #3 to get back in the match. Tiger sophomore Madison Soukup became the first Tiger to 10 wins on the season with a dominant effort at #9, but there were tough matches remaining on all three courts.
Sophomore Morgan Steelman dropped a tight third game at #5 to see her lead drop to 2-1, but she showed impressive resilience in the fourth game. She controlled the court in the fourth and kept Lindsay Stanley moving enough to ultimately clinch the victory for both herself and the team.
Princeton wasn't finished, though. Junior Isabel Hirshberg bounced back after a couple tight losses at #8 and took over the court midway through her match. She rallied from the 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win, the final one for Princeton in the memorable win. Senior Olivia Fiechter gave the main court a thrill with a strong effort against finalist Reeham Sedky, though she eventually fell in four games.
Check back later in the week for a preview of Saturday's showdown at Harvard, a match that will be streamed live on the Ivy League Network. Check out an interview with Keating befow the individual scores.
PRINCETON 6, PENN 3
1 – Reeham Sedky (Pe) d. Olivia Fiechter (8), 4, 5, 3
2 – Melissa Alves (Pe) d. Raneem El Torky 8, 8, 6
3 – Marie Stephan (Pe) d. Grace Doyle 3, 10, 4
4 – Samantha Chai (Pr) d. Haley Scott 5, 8, 4
5 – Morgan Steelman (Pr) d. Lindsay Stanley 2, 9, (10), 7
6 – Emme Leonard (Pr) d. Julia Buchholz 7, 8, 7
7 – Kira Keating (Pr) d. Cameron Munn 7, 9, 1
8 – Isabel Hirshberg (Pr) d. Clare Kearns (10), (8), 4, 4, 6
9 – Madison Soukup (Pr) d. Nicole Windreich 3, 6, 5
The top-ranked Princeton Tigers won three matches in each of the two shifts Wednesday night to remain undefeated with a 6-3 win at Penn. Princeton improved to 10-0 with the win, 3-0 in the Ivy League, and it set up the biggest match of the regular season Saturday at noon when it heads to Boston to face reigning champion Harvard.
Princeton, which moved to No. 1 following a wild 5-4 comeback win over Trinity before finals, did a good job in maintaining that energy in its first match after the break. The Tigers took three of the first four matches on court, all by 3-0 scores, to keep the home energy from getting strong for Penn.
Junior Samantha Chai improved to 9-1 on the season with a dominant effort at #4, and Keating remained perfect with a sweep at #7. Freshman Emme Leonard answered the call in the biggest road match of her young career, fighting out a couple close finishes in a 3-0 win at #6.
Penn claimed a win at #2, and followed with a strong effort at #3 to get back in the match. Tiger sophomore Madison Soukup became the first Tiger to 10 wins on the season with a dominant effort at #9, but there were tough matches remaining on all three courts.
Sophomore Morgan Steelman dropped a tight third game at #5 to see her lead drop to 2-1, but she showed impressive resilience in the fourth game. She controlled the court in the fourth and kept Lindsay Stanley moving enough to ultimately clinch the victory for both herself and the team.
Princeton wasn't finished, though. Junior Isabel Hirshberg bounced back after a couple tight losses at #8 and took over the court midway through her match. She rallied from the 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win, the final one for Princeton in the memorable win. Senior Olivia Fiechter gave the main court a thrill with a strong effort against finalist Reeham Sedky, though she eventually fell in four games.
Check back later in the week for a preview of Saturday's showdown at Harvard, a match that will be streamed live on the Ivy League Network. Check out an interview with Keating befow the individual scores.
PRINCETON 6, PENN 3
1 – Reeham Sedky (Pe) d. Olivia Fiechter (8), 4, 5, 3
2 – Melissa Alves (Pe) d. Raneem El Torky 8, 8, 6
3 – Marie Stephan (Pe) d. Grace Doyle 3, 10, 4
4 – Samantha Chai (Pr) d. Haley Scott 5, 8, 4
5 – Morgan Steelman (Pr) d. Lindsay Stanley 2, 9, (10), 7
6 – Emme Leonard (Pr) d. Julia Buchholz 7, 8, 7
7 – Kira Keating (Pr) d. Cameron Munn 7, 9, 1
8 – Isabel Hirshberg (Pr) d. Clare Kearns (10), (8), 4, 4, 6
9 – Madison Soukup (Pr) d. Nicole Windreich 3, 6, 5
Senior co-captain Kira Keating talks after our 6-3 win over Penn! pic.twitter.com/CcvAAM70wd
— Gail Ramsay (@TigerSquash1) February 1, 2018
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
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