Crimson Continues To Tumble

The No. 3 Harvard women’s squash team (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) continued its struggles against top-tier opponents, dropping weekend matches to No. 1 Penn (12-0, 5-0 Ivy) and No. 2 Princeton (7-1, 5-1 Ivy), 5-4 and 6-3, respectively at the Barnaby Courts.

The team was undefeated heading into last Wednesday’s matchup against No. 5 Trinity, but fell to the Bantams, 7-2 to record its first loss of the season. With the weekend losses, the Crimson heads into its final regular season contest against Yale on a three-game losing streak and 0-3 against the top 5.

“We are a bit rough around the edges,” senior Supriya Balsekar said. “We had no matches for 70 days [over Christmas break and exams].”

PRINCETON 6, HARVARD 3

In a rematch of last season’s Howe Cup Final, No. 2 Princeton overwhelmed Harvard, 6-3, giving the Crimson its third consecutive loss to the Tigers.

Freshmen No. 2 Alisha Mashruwala and No. 5 Bethan Williams each earned tough five- and four-set victories, respectively, to raise their team-leading records to 7-1. Mashruwala won the first two games 10-8 and 9-1 before dropping the next two 9-5 and 9-4 to knot the match at two. In a closely contested fifth game, Mashruwala came out on top, 10-8, to take the match, 3-2.

Williams dropped her first set 9-1, but came back to win the next three games comfortably, 9-2, 9-4, and 9-6.

In only her third game back from injury, No. 7 Balsekar fell behind early but came back to win, 4-9, 9-3, 9-2, 9-7, to run her record to 2-1 since returning.

The three wins marked the only bright spots for Harvard on Sunday. Sophomores Katherine O’Donnell, Johanna Snyder, Charlene Neo, and Sandra Mumanachit, along with freshman Alexandra Zindman, all lost in straight sets. Freshman No. 1 June Tiong dropped a competitive four set match to the Tigers’ Amanda Siebert, 9-6, 7-9, 9-0, 9-2.

PENN 5, HARVARD 4

Deadlocked at three matches apiece heading into the deciding three matches, the Crimson was only able to muster one victory, falling to the No. 1 Quakers, 5-4, Saturday afternoon.

Despite the loss, the showing was a stark improvement over the 9-0 whitewash that Harvard suffered at the hands of the Penn during a pre-season fall matchup.

“We were unable to capitalize on their mistakes,” Balsekar said. “But I’m very proud of how the team performed. We took many lessons away from the match.”

While the Quakers won their opening three matches efficiently, the Crimson players had to work for their victories with all three going at least four sets. O’Donnell won the opening match in four sets, 9-4, 6-9, 9-7, 9-4, to give her team the early lead. Mashruwala added a four-set win of her own by a score of 9-2, 3-9, 9-3, 9-4. Williams gutted out a tough five-set victory, 8-10, 9-2, 10-8, 8-10, 9-4, in which three of the five games in the match went into overtime.

In a back-and-forth battle where she was twice within two points of victory, Mumanachit fell in a tight contest, 8-10, 9-2, 10-8, 8-10, 9-4, to record only her second loss of the season.

Neo dropped her match in straight sets, while Zindman fell in four to knot the contest at three matches apiece. Zindman’s loss was her first on the season and dropped her record to 6-1.

Needing two wins to clinch the match, Harvard managed only one. Balsekar delivered a strong performance to notch the seventh flight in straight sets, 3-0. However, Tiong and Snyder fell in straight sets, 3-0, to secure the Quaker victory.

The victory leaves Penn needing only a win against Dartmouth to lock up the Ivy League title.

“No matter what, we have a lot to play for,” Balsekar said. “Our matches have been very close and with a few days rest we will be ready to go.”

The Crimson travels to New Haven on Wednesday to take on the Bulldogs in its final regular season match. The team concludes its season with the Howe Cup in Princeton, N.J. on February 22.

—Staff writer Barrett P. Kenny can be reached at bpkenny@fas.harvard.edu.