Bulldogs Come Out Ahead of W. Squash in Ivy Championship Showdown

The run had to end sometime.

After defeating two higher-ranked opponents to set up a showdown of unbeatens with No. 1 Yale, the No. 2 Harvard women’s squash team was unable to scrape up a third upset and fell 5-4 to the Bulldogs at the Barnaby Squash Courts Saturday. With the win, Yale (10-0, 6-0 Ivy) clinched its second-straight Ivy League championship and the No. 1 seed at the Howe Cup national tournament at Princeton next weekend.

The Crimson (7-1, 5-1) finishes the dual-meet season second in the Ivy League and will have the No. 2 seed at the Howe Cup, where it will most likely face No. 3 Trinity and, if it gets past the formidable obstacle of the Bantams, set up a rematch the with Bulldogs.

While the loss was disheartening, the close final score was encouraging for a team that started the season ranked a distant No. 4 to Yale’s No. 1. Saturday, the Bulldogs lost more matches (four) than it had cumulatively all season (three).

“We’ve won a few 5-4, and I’ve always felt if the luck goes your way then you’ll come through,” said Harvard coach Satinder Bajwa. “I think two years ago we won the Ivy title beating Yale, and it went our way. Today—I think it’s a credit to us that we made it come to 4-5, and the fact that it could have gone either way is an even bigger credit.”

The thought of a chance for another shot at next week’s tournament provided some small consolation as the Harvard players watched their blue-clad counterparts celebrate the championship win on the Crimson’s home courts.

“We’re just more determined now than we were before for next weekend,” sophomore Kyla Grigg said. “So it was unfortunate, but hopefully it will turn into a positive thing.”

The atmosphere was clearly that of a title bout, compounded by a noisy crowd equally split between Harvard and Yale fans and other players. With the Ivy championship trophy sitting conspicuously at center court, it was impossible to ignore the significance of each and every match as play crept on and the crowd grew rowdier.

As match play started, it was difficult to determine who had the upper hand. Sophomore No. 6 Lydia Williams claimed a swift win over Yale’s Lauren Doline, 9-3, 9-3, 9-3, but co-captain Hilary Thorndike dropped an equally quick 3-0 decision to Lauren McCrery at No. 8. 9-4, 9-0, 9-3.

Co-captain Lindsey Wilkins, playing at No. 2, ground out a long first game against Amy Gross but lost it 9-7. Gross, powered by a vicious two-handed backhand, won the next two games 9-6, 9-1 to take the match victory.

Sophomore No. 4 Audrey Duboc held a 2-0 game advantage over Miranda Ranieri, including a thrilling 10-8 second-game win, but then seemed to lose momentum. Ranieri easily claimed the next three games 9-1, 9-1, 9-0, to the roaring delight of the gathered Yale fans.

The three wins at evens gave Yale a 3-1 advantage midway through the match, and left the Crimson little room for error. When senior Stephanie Hendricks lost 10-8, 9-4, 9-0, to Kate Rapisarda at No. 9, the Bulldogs needed just one more win to seal the victory.

But Harvard got gritty wins at both No. 5 and No. 7 to keep the match alive. Freshman Supriya Balsekar, who has not lost a single match yet in her rookie season, beat Yale’s Frances Ho 9-5, 9-1, 9-2 at No. 5, while junior Allison Fast overcame Rachita Vora 9-7, 9-7, 9-5 at No. 7.

The decision came down to freshman Jennifer Blumberg’s bout at No. 3 and Grigg’s duel at No. 1 with defending individuals champion and intercollegiate No. 2 Michelle Quibell. There was the potential for the final result to hang on the outcome of the highly-anticipated Quibell-Grigg matchup.

But the drama was undermined by Blumberg’s match with Catherine McLeod, one of the top-five players in the country. Blumberg battled out the first game for a 10-8 loss, but could not mount a consistent comeback and lost the next two games 9-0, 9-2, to give the Bulldogs the newly-dedicated Ivy League trophy.

Bajwa remained optimistic despite the loss, crediting his squad’s ability to hang tough with the defending champions.

“I really think that this [Yale] team is absolutely loaded,” Bajwa said. “There really hasn’t been a stronger depth team in women’s squash than the Yale team right now, and for our guys to come this close, it’s fantastic.”

Grigg’s marathon 3-2 win over Quibell, 10-8, 3-9, 10-9, 2-9, 9-7, set the stage for next week’s potential rematch. While pleased with her individual win, she spoke to the Crimson’s ability to disprove doubts that it could pose a true challenge to Yale.

“I think we knew all along that it was possible,” Grigg said. “I think it was more of a sense of showing everyone else that we could.”

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.