W. Squash Wins Easily

The Harvard women’s squash team knows how to get a season started.

The Crimson (2-0, 2-0 Ivy) blanked Cornell 9-0 Saturday , running its record in individual matches to 18-0 on the year.

Even playing on its home court, the noticeably weaker Big Red (1-3, 0-3 Ivy) could not overcome the depth of Harvard’s ladder, which is stacked with seven freshmen and sophomores. The Crimson allowed an average of just four points in each match, excluding the contest at No. 5.

“Our team is a lot stronger than Cornell, and going into the match, we knew it wouldn’t be close,” co-captain Ella Witcher said. “But it is still rewarding to see how well everyone placed.”

Sophomore Hilary Thorndike played in the fifth slot and provided the most drama of the day, only closing out her opponent 10-8 in the third game.

But even that match wasn’t really that close. Thorndike dominated the first two games, motivating the Harvard coaches to encourage her to test run techniques that she had been honing during practices.

“The coaches make a point about not just winning easily and making sure to challenge yourself,” Thorndike said. “In the third game, they wanted me to volley more balls and hit more drop shots, and all my drop shots were just hitting the tin.”

Thorndike pulled out the victory in the end, preserving her undefeated collegiate record and an unmarred win for the Crimson.

Harvard has looked strong so far this season, with a single game lost to Brown as the only blemish on its record.

In polls published last Thursday, the Crimson pulled ahead of Yale into the No. 2 spot behind Trinity.

Harvard coach Satinder Bajwa noted before the season started that the national title would boil down to a three-horse race between the Crimson, the Bulldogs and the Bantams. By defeating the Elis in a preseason scrimmage and turning in these two dominating victories, Harvard has sent a clear message that its performance belies its youth.

“The freshmen have done a great job, and the year of experience has helped the sophomores a lot,” Thorndike said. “So our outlook looks good.”

Ladder shuffling will continue throughout the year, since Harvard plays challenge matches to determine its lineup before each competition. Junior co-captain Louisa Hall and sophomore Lindsey Wilkins have laid claim to the first two slots, but the rest of the ladder is up for grabs.

“I hope that people will be moving higher and lower all season long,” Witcher said. “It shows that people are improving and learning.”

The Crimson will also have two players returning to action soon. Freshman Moira Weigel, who played No. 3 against Brown, was held out against Cornell with a hip injury but expects to return to practice next week. Harvard hopes that sophomore Stephanie Hendricks, who has been out of commission all season with an ankle injury, will return after break.

The Crimson is off until Jan. 7, when it hosts Williams. Harvard scrimmages Yale the following day, in a matchup that will provide a preview of how the Crimson stacks up against its stiffest competition in the Ivy League.

—Staff writer Brenda E. Lee can be reached at belee@fas.harvard.edu.

W. Squash 9, Cornell 0

1. Hall (H) d. Warfield (C) 9-0, 9-0, 9-4

2. Wilkens (H) d. Stetson (C) 9-1, 9-4, 9-1

3. Delano (H) d. Wolfson (C) 9-2, 9-0, 9-4

4. Browne (H) d. Fahr (C) 9-0, 9-0, 9-2

5. Thorndike (H) d. Laycob (C) 9-1, 9-5, 10-8

6. Fast (H) d. Perschetz (C) 9-3, 9-0, 9-0

7. Witcher (H) d. Zipf (C) 9-3, 9-0, 9-0

8. Johnson (H) d. Brier-Rosenfield (C) 9-3, 9-1, 9-0

9. Wallace (H) d. Greenwald (C) 9-2, 9-0, 9-0