Thursday, January 10
Hartford, Conn.
1:00 PM
Princeton University
5
at
4
Trinity
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Twice As Nice! #3 Princeton Tops #2 Trinity 5-4 In Road Thriller
January 10, 2019 | Women's Squash
One year earlier, it was a massive comeback in front of their home fans. This time, it was a series of dramatic five-game road wins that did the job.
Both times, it was enough for the third-ranked Princeton women's squash team to knock off #2 Trinity in a wild midweek showdown.
Three different Princeton players, including a pair of freshmen, overcame deficits in 3-2 victories to lead Princeton (7-0) to a 5-4 victory over Trinity (6-1) in Hartford, Conn. The clinching win came from freshman Andrea Toth, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Lakeesha Rarere 4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 at the #7 spot to put Princeton over the top.
The Tigers put themselves in position with 2-1 wins in the first two shifts. Senior co-captain Isabel Hirshberg got the match off on the right foot with a dominant win at the #9 spot, where she dropped only 11 total points to Campbell Brown. The other two matches both went the distance, with each side taking one. Princeton sophomore Emme Leonard nearly pulled off a massive comeback after going down 2-0, but she eventually fell 3-2 at #6.
Freshman Elle Ruggiero shined in her first major road test. She trailed 1-0 and 2-1 to Vanessa Raj at the #3 spot, but she powered through with wins of 11-4 and 11-6 to take the match.
Senior Samantha Chai grabbed the third win with a sweep at the #5 spot, where she lost only 15 points to Jennifer Haley. Raneem El Torky's comeback attempt at #2 fell short, but junior Morgan Steelman was creating her own rally at the #8 spot. Trailing 2-0, she posted consecutive 11-7 wins to force a fifth game, and then she finished off the thriller 11-5 in the fifth.
That put Princeton on the verge of victory, but Trinity grabbed leads on every court in an attempt to mirror Princeton's 2018 comeback. Trinity would ultimately grab wins at #1 and #4, but only after Toth's brilliant finish at the #7 spot. After trailing 2-1 in the match, Toth grabbed an 11-6 win and then rolled off the final six points in the final game to secure the win.
Princeton will now turn its focus to the Ivy League season, which opens this weekend with road matches at both Brown (Saturday, 2:30) and Yale (Sunday, 12).
Also, check out the latest "Beyond The Stripes" episode, featuring Grace and Clark Doyle and their path from Hurricane Katrina to Princeton squash, at the bottom of this story!
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Head coach Gail Ramsay
It was a very tough, competitive match and we are excited to come out winning 5-4. Everyone put out a great effort, but Sam Chai played one of her best matches. Sam had impressive court coverage combined with some great shot selection, which allowed her to easily handle her opponent.
Assistant coach Hesham Aly
I'm super proud of the team today. They stayed positive and disciplined, showing how hard they worked for this. Every match matters but today I wanted to highlight Morgan Steelman's ability to stay calm, connect the dots and push through a bumpy start, coming back from 0-2 to win the match. Let's go Tigers!
Isabel Hirshberg
The win today shows that the hard work we have put in during the break really paid off. I was very excited to start off the match and set the momentum for my court, which was followed by two more wins! We had a lot of five-game thrillers which were key wins today! It is an awesome feeling moving into the Ivy League play as #2 in the nation!
Samantha Chai
We were all thrilled to win today! We came back early from winter break to train and it felt good to see our extra work pay off. I played Jenny Haley, whom I had only faced once before and lost to. Today I focused on hitting good, tight length and smart shots from the front. She's fast and has good hands, so I'm glad it worked!
Andrea Toth
My match today was really tough and in the fifth game I really focused on taking one point at a time and tried my best to avoid thinking about the score and what was going on outside of my court. In the end I think I managed to outlast my opponent and really tried to focus on moving her around, playing long and hard rallies and being patient.
Bubble Lui
Today was a tough match for me. My opponent is a really good player. I knew her from when I was still playing squash back in Hong Kong so I expected a tough match. I didn't play my best game today and missed a few chances but I am happy that our team won!
#3 Princeton 5, #2 Trinity 4
1 - Min Jie Teh (T) d. Bubble Lui 6, 10, 11
2 - Salma Alam Eldin (T) d. Raneem El Torky 9, 7, (6), 4
3 - Elle Ruggiero (P) d. Vanessa Raj (6), 6, (8), 4, 6
4 - Akanksha Salunkhe (T) d. Grace Doyle (8), 5, 6, 10
5 - Samantha Chai (P) d. Jennifer Haley 7, 3, 5
6 - Nadiia Usenko (T) d. Emme Leonard 8, 10, (6), (2), 7
7 - Andrea Toth (P) d. Lakeesha Rarere (4), 5, (8), 6, 5
8 - Morgan Steelman (P) d. Amina Taher (5), (8), 7, 7, 5
9 - Isabel Hirshberg (P) d. Campbell Brown 4, 3, 4
Both times, it was enough for the third-ranked Princeton women's squash team to knock off #2 Trinity in a wild midweek showdown.
Three different Princeton players, including a pair of freshmen, overcame deficits in 3-2 victories to lead Princeton (7-0) to a 5-4 victory over Trinity (6-1) in Hartford, Conn. The clinching win came from freshman Andrea Toth, who rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Lakeesha Rarere 4-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 at the #7 spot to put Princeton over the top.
The Tigers put themselves in position with 2-1 wins in the first two shifts. Senior co-captain Isabel Hirshberg got the match off on the right foot with a dominant win at the #9 spot, where she dropped only 11 total points to Campbell Brown. The other two matches both went the distance, with each side taking one. Princeton sophomore Emme Leonard nearly pulled off a massive comeback after going down 2-0, but she eventually fell 3-2 at #6.
Freshman Elle Ruggiero shined in her first major road test. She trailed 1-0 and 2-1 to Vanessa Raj at the #3 spot, but she powered through with wins of 11-4 and 11-6 to take the match.
Senior Samantha Chai grabbed the third win with a sweep at the #5 spot, where she lost only 15 points to Jennifer Haley. Raneem El Torky's comeback attempt at #2 fell short, but junior Morgan Steelman was creating her own rally at the #8 spot. Trailing 2-0, she posted consecutive 11-7 wins to force a fifth game, and then she finished off the thriller 11-5 in the fifth.
That put Princeton on the verge of victory, but Trinity grabbed leads on every court in an attempt to mirror Princeton's 2018 comeback. Trinity would ultimately grab wins at #1 and #4, but only after Toth's brilliant finish at the #7 spot. After trailing 2-1 in the match, Toth grabbed an 11-6 win and then rolled off the final six points in the final game to secure the win.
Princeton will now turn its focus to the Ivy League season, which opens this weekend with road matches at both Brown (Saturday, 2:30) and Yale (Sunday, 12).
Also, check out the latest "Beyond The Stripes" episode, featuring Grace and Clark Doyle and their path from Hurricane Katrina to Princeton squash, at the bottom of this story!
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Head coach Gail Ramsay
It was a very tough, competitive match and we are excited to come out winning 5-4. Everyone put out a great effort, but Sam Chai played one of her best matches. Sam had impressive court coverage combined with some great shot selection, which allowed her to easily handle her opponent.
Assistant coach Hesham Aly
I'm super proud of the team today. They stayed positive and disciplined, showing how hard they worked for this. Every match matters but today I wanted to highlight Morgan Steelman's ability to stay calm, connect the dots and push through a bumpy start, coming back from 0-2 to win the match. Let's go Tigers!
Isabel Hirshberg
The win today shows that the hard work we have put in during the break really paid off. I was very excited to start off the match and set the momentum for my court, which was followed by two more wins! We had a lot of five-game thrillers which were key wins today! It is an awesome feeling moving into the Ivy League play as #2 in the nation!
Samantha Chai
We were all thrilled to win today! We came back early from winter break to train and it felt good to see our extra work pay off. I played Jenny Haley, whom I had only faced once before and lost to. Today I focused on hitting good, tight length and smart shots from the front. She's fast and has good hands, so I'm glad it worked!
Andrea Toth
My match today was really tough and in the fifth game I really focused on taking one point at a time and tried my best to avoid thinking about the score and what was going on outside of my court. In the end I think I managed to outlast my opponent and really tried to focus on moving her around, playing long and hard rallies and being patient.
Bubble Lui
Today was a tough match for me. My opponent is a really good player. I knew her from when I was still playing squash back in Hong Kong so I expected a tough match. I didn't play my best game today and missed a few chances but I am happy that our team won!
#3 Princeton 5, #2 Trinity 4
1 - Min Jie Teh (T) d. Bubble Lui 6, 10, 11
2 - Salma Alam Eldin (T) d. Raneem El Torky 9, 7, (6), 4
3 - Elle Ruggiero (P) d. Vanessa Raj (6), 6, (8), 4, 6
4 - Akanksha Salunkhe (T) d. Grace Doyle (8), 5, 6, 10
5 - Samantha Chai (P) d. Jennifer Haley 7, 3, 5
6 - Nadiia Usenko (T) d. Emme Leonard 8, 10, (6), (2), 7
7 - Andrea Toth (P) d. Lakeesha Rarere (4), 5, (8), 6, 5
8 - Morgan Steelman (P) d. Amina Taher (5), (8), 7, 7, 5
9 - Isabel Hirshberg (P) d. Campbell Brown 4, 3, 4
Grace Doyle's path to Princeton Squash intersected the path of one of America's greatest tragedies, Hurricane Katrina. Not only did she grow even closer to her family, but she eventually found a new sport to love. Check it out in #BeyondTheStripes! pic.twitter.com/hOBSRHWe9B
— Gail Ramsay (@TigerSquash1) January 10, 2019
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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