Saturday, February 17
Cambridge, Mass.
2:30 PM
Princeton University
3
vs
6
Trinity (CSA Semifinal)
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Trinity Ends Howe Cup Title Bid For Princeton With 6-3 Win
February 17, 2018 | Women's Squash
The third-seeded Trinity Bantams advanced to the CSA Howe Cup national championship Saturday afternoon by jumping out to an early lead and then clinching the semifinal win in the middle shift of a 6-3 win over the second-seeded Princeton Tigers.
Princeton, which fell to 14-2 on the season with the loss, will return to the court Sunday afternoon to take on historic rival Yale for third place at the Howe Cup.
The match took a similar early feel as the regular-season thriller, when Princeton rallied from a 4-1 deficit to post a 5-4 win. Trinity once again took a 2-1 lead after the opening shift, though Princeton managed to grab the first team point on a brilliant performance by freshman Emme Leonard. After losing her January match in five games against Trinity, Leonard dropped only nine points in her first two games at the #6 position and closed Lakeesha Rarere in three.
Trinity, which has a strong top of the lineup, got a 3-0 win at #3, and then all eyes turned to the #9 match between Princeton's Madison Soukup and Trinity's Karolina Holinkova. While Soukup had the edge in overall points thanks to an 11-1 win in the fourth game, it was Holinkova's play late in games that made the difference. After a pair of 13-11 wins helped her get out to a 2-1 lead, she won four of the final five points in the fifth to take a 3-2 win.
Trinity moved to 3-1 with a sweep at the #5 spot, which left Princeton's Raneem El Torky and Isabel Hirshberg in a fight to prolong the match. El Torky won a 14-12 thriller in the opening game, but dropped the next two 11-5. She fought back in the fourth, but Salma Alam Eldin held her off for an 11-8 win.
That put Trinity up 4-1, a familiar position from the regular season, but this time the Bantams held a commanding lead in another match. Hirshberg trailed 2-0, 10-6 in the third, but fought off four match balls to force extra points. Trinity's Akanksha Salunkhe would finally earn a fifth, and she capitalized to secure a spot in the final.
The Princeton senior co-captains would not let the outcome impact their play, as both Olivia Fiechter and Kira Keating went out and won their matches. Fiechter improved to 14-2 on the season at the #1 spot with a 3-1 win over Raneem Sharaf, and Keating went to 12-1 with a 3-1 win at #7. Trinity added a win at the fourth position to close the 6-3 match.
Princeton will face fifth-seeded Yale at 2 pm for third place. The Tigers won an 8-1 match over the Bulldogs in Jadwin during the regular season.
TRINITY 6, PRINCETON 3
1 – Olivia Fiechter (P) d. Raneem Sharaf (7), 6, 6, 3
2 – Salma Alam Eldin (T) d. Raneem El Torky (12), 5, 5, 8
3 – Julia Le Coq (T) d. Grace Doyle 4, 4, 9
4 – Min Jie Teh (T) d. Samantha Chai 2, 6, 10
5 – Vanessa Raj (T) Morgan Steelman 4, 6, 4
6 – Emme Leonard (P) d. Lakeesha Rarere 4, 5, 9
7 – Kira Keating (P) d. Jeniifer Haley 9, 8, (7), 3
8 – Akanksha Salunkhe (T) d. Isabel Hirshberg 5, 7, 11
9 – Karolina Holinkova (T) d. Madison Soukup 11, (8), 11, (1), 8
Princeton, which fell to 14-2 on the season with the loss, will return to the court Sunday afternoon to take on historic rival Yale for third place at the Howe Cup.
The match took a similar early feel as the regular-season thriller, when Princeton rallied from a 4-1 deficit to post a 5-4 win. Trinity once again took a 2-1 lead after the opening shift, though Princeton managed to grab the first team point on a brilliant performance by freshman Emme Leonard. After losing her January match in five games against Trinity, Leonard dropped only nine points in her first two games at the #6 position and closed Lakeesha Rarere in three.
Trinity, which has a strong top of the lineup, got a 3-0 win at #3, and then all eyes turned to the #9 match between Princeton's Madison Soukup and Trinity's Karolina Holinkova. While Soukup had the edge in overall points thanks to an 11-1 win in the fourth game, it was Holinkova's play late in games that made the difference. After a pair of 13-11 wins helped her get out to a 2-1 lead, she won four of the final five points in the fifth to take a 3-2 win.
Trinity moved to 3-1 with a sweep at the #5 spot, which left Princeton's Raneem El Torky and Isabel Hirshberg in a fight to prolong the match. El Torky won a 14-12 thriller in the opening game, but dropped the next two 11-5. She fought back in the fourth, but Salma Alam Eldin held her off for an 11-8 win.
That put Trinity up 4-1, a familiar position from the regular season, but this time the Bantams held a commanding lead in another match. Hirshberg trailed 2-0, 10-6 in the third, but fought off four match balls to force extra points. Trinity's Akanksha Salunkhe would finally earn a fifth, and she capitalized to secure a spot in the final.
The Princeton senior co-captains would not let the outcome impact their play, as both Olivia Fiechter and Kira Keating went out and won their matches. Fiechter improved to 14-2 on the season at the #1 spot with a 3-1 win over Raneem Sharaf, and Keating went to 12-1 with a 3-1 win at #7. Trinity added a win at the fourth position to close the 6-3 match.
Princeton will face fifth-seeded Yale at 2 pm for third place. The Tigers won an 8-1 match over the Bulldogs in Jadwin during the regular season.
TRINITY 6, PRINCETON 3
1 – Olivia Fiechter (P) d. Raneem Sharaf (7), 6, 6, 3
2 – Salma Alam Eldin (T) d. Raneem El Torky (12), 5, 5, 8
3 – Julia Le Coq (T) d. Grace Doyle 4, 4, 9
4 – Min Jie Teh (T) d. Samantha Chai 2, 6, 10
5 – Vanessa Raj (T) Morgan Steelman 4, 6, 4
6 – Emme Leonard (P) d. Lakeesha Rarere 4, 5, 9
7 – Kira Keating (P) d. Jeniifer Haley 9, 8, (7), 3
8 – Akanksha Salunkhe (T) d. Isabel Hirshberg 5, 7, 11
9 – Karolina Holinkova (T) d. Madison Soukup 11, (8), 11, (1), 8
Players Mentioned
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/ 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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