Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Yale
No. 2 Princeton Opens Home Ivy Slate With 6-3 Win over Yale
February 01, 2020 | Women's Squash
Emme Leonard, Caroline Spahr, Andrea Toth, Grace Doyle, Emily Rose and India Stephenson delivered the wins for Princeton to improve to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the Ivy heading into Sunday's 2 p.m. visit from Brown.
Just two of the matches went the distance, with Princeton taking both of the 3-2 results on wins by Leonard and India Stephenson. Three of the four sweeps were Princeton's, from Toth, Doyle and Rose.
The Tigers on the match:
Sophomore Emily Rose:
"Today was an awesome win for the Tigers. Every single person brought her 'A' game, which was necessary to beat Yale today. They've had some really great results lately, so we knew it was going to be a challenging match going into today, but we were focused and purposeful in each match. I've played my opponent many times through juniors and played her at Ivy scrimmages earlier this season, so I had a concrete game plan going in and was able to execute it well. (Head coach) Gail's (Ramsay) encouragement in between games to continue to be aggressive and use my short game was incredibly helpful. When I was down 8-10 in the third game, I had a sense that I was in a position to clinch the match and used that as motivation to climb back and win that game 12-10. Overall, our team is really proud of our performance today and were looking forward to Brown tomorrow."
Junior Grace Doyle:
"We knew Yale was going to be really tough and we were excited for a competitive match. Everyone came out strong from the start and ready to play. On my court, Andrea (Toth) and I were both playing aggressively and hitting solid length. I am so proud of the team today and we are excited to have our captain Morgan (Steelman) back and feeling better soon."
"I'm very happy with my performance today, but more importantly, so happy that our team got the W. Yale is a very strong team, so we knew that we had to bring our 'A' game and that's exactly what we did. (Yale's) Elisabeth (Ross) is a very strong player who I was able to play with on the USA Junior Women's Squash team in New Zealand the summer entering my freshman year. Today, I knew I had to play patiently and move as efficiently as possible on court. Overall, we are all pumped and excited to get back on court tomorrow versus Brown."
Head coach Gail Ramsay:
"I thought we would have our hands full with Yale. Emme Leonard at three was sick and out all week, so I was concerned she would be a bit rusty, but she seemed to find her way through the match, winning in four games. And this morning our number eight co-captain Morgan Steelman was confirmed with the flu, so she was out of the lineup. Fortunately, our depth came through for us. Elle Ruggiero at number one and number two Raneem El Torky fought hard but faced some stiff competition, and we knew that was where Yale was the toughest. Toth at number five played a great match and won in three games. She used her consistent depth to control the play, putting her opponent under pressure and opening up the court. Toth also covered the court so well it was hard for her opponent to be successful when trying to attack. India Stephenson struggled at number eight against Yale's (Alexis) Lazor, but in the fifth game was able to get the ball deeper in the court, which helped open up the court and produce more successful attack, and she took the fifth game 11-5. Gracie Doyle also played a great match, winning 3-0. This was her fourth match back after an injury, and she is improving with each one. Caroline Spahr bounced back nicely from her lost at Penn on Wednesday night and showed real determination Saturday against Yale's Brittany Jefferson. In the fourth game, while ahead two games to one, she fought off several game balls to win that game 14-12 and the match.
Match results are below.
Lucy Beecroft (Yale) def. Elle Ruggiero (Princeton), 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-5)
Helen Teegan (Yale) def. Raneem El Torky (Princeton), 3-1 (9-11, 13-11, 11-0, 11-5)
Emme Leonard (Princeton) def. Elisabeth Ross (Yale), 3-2 (11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7)
Caroline Spahr (Princeton) def. Brianna Jefferson (Yale), 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 14-12)
Andrea Toth (Princeton) def. Aishwarya Bhattacharya (Yale), 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-8)
Grace Doyle (Princeton) def. Gigi Yeung (Yale), 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-6)
Emily Rose (Princeton) def. Riya Mital (Yale), 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 13-11)
India Stephenson (Princeton) def. Alexis Lazor (Yale), 3-2 (13-11, 8-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-5)
Nikita Joshi (Yale) def. Lucy Stephenson (Princeton), 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7)
10th match: Mia Rosini (Princeton) def. Ainsley Weber (Yale), 3-2 (5-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-4)
Players Mentioned
