No. 1 Women's Squash Hands No. 5 Trinity Second Straight Home Loss

The No. 1 Harvard women’s squash team (6-0, 3-0 Ivy League) downed No. 5 Trinity (7-3, 0-0 NESCAC) 7-2 in its first away game of 2016 at the Kellner Squash Center in Hartford, C.T. The defending national champion won in convincing fashion, but dropped two matches to end its total sweep streak.

Coming off of a strong win against St. Lawrence, in which senior Alexandra Sperry made her return in style with a sweep of her opponent, the Crimson looked to round up its non-conference play in the win column.

The Bantams, on the other hand, were not only looking to get a win after Penn handed it its first loss of the new year, but also avenge a CSA championship game loss against Harvard last year.

“Playing away games is always tough but playing away trinity is especially tricky because our matches with Trinity have traditionally always been tough and in such matches home court advantage is a huge factor,” co-captain Saumya Karki said. “Trinity had a huge crowd come out to support them but I think the team did a good job of putting their head down and getting the job done.”

The Crimson had a relatively slow start with a loss in the first match. Sophomore Sue Ann Yong, who, until this match, had been undefeated, was swept by Trinity’s Jenny Haley at the No. 6 position. The match could have gone to four games, with Yong nearly taking the second game, which she ultimately dropped 12-14. Haley won the first and third games 11-7 and 11-6.

Harvard quickly rebounded, with Karki’s sweep of Karolina Holinkova 13-11, 11-7, 11-3 in the ninth spot. With this win, Karki extends her win streak to 5-0 on the season, and her improves her overall record to 39-5.

In the No. 8 position, freshman Sophie Mehta won off of a rare injury default by Alexia Echeverria.

Mehta’s older sister, sophomore Alyssa, earned a hard-fought win over Bantam Julia LeCoq in the third spot. After dropping the first game 9-11, Mehta gained momentum in the second and third games, which she took 11-5 and 11-9. LeCoq was not deterred by the situation facing her, though. She took the fourth game, but ultimately could not best Mehta. With this win comes Mehta’s second victory of the season at the No. 3 position.

“I think in moments like that the girls did extremely well - held their focus and showed a lot of fight and grit to come through,” Karki said. “This win is great for our confidence going into our next matches and Nationals very soon. We are playing well, very fit and mentally strong.”

Trinity took the match at the No. 7 spot, with Sachika Balvani’s win over junior Dileas MacGowan. After winning the first two games by a close margin, it seemed that the Bantams co-captain would add a second sweep of the night. MacGowan, though, dominated the third game, allowing only one point. At this point, it seemed that the momentum had shifted in MacGowan’s favor, but Balvani regained control to win the fourth game and the match.

At the fifth position, senior Michelle Gemmell extended her undefeated streak with a sweep against Salma El Defrawy, and junior Katherine Tutrone came from behind to edge out Anna Kimberley 3-1.

The Crimson freshmen continued to impress on the court, with both Sabrina Sobhy and Kayley Leonard posting wins against CSA first team All-Americans. Leonard played at the No. 2 spot, taking on Ranaam Sharaf in a five game battle. After taking the first game 11-8, Leonard dropped the next two, both 9-11. The freshman eventually regained momentum and took the next two games 11-9 and 11-7.

After her older sister had defeated No. 2 in the country Kanzy El Defrawy in the CSA championship game the previous year, it was Sobhy’s turn. The freshman ended El Defrawy’s undefeated streak in a four-game effort.

Tied one game apiece after the first two games, it was clear that the match was going to go down to the last play. Sobhy, though, was able to pull through and take the next two games 11-7 and 11-2.

With this win, the Crimson is off to a strong start on its three game road trip.

“People fought hard today,” MacGowan said. “Though some of us didn’t play our best at times, we were able to “catch” ourselves when it mattered and get back to basics and pull through even when it’s a messy match. And those are the toughest to win, and arguably the most important to win as well because it demonstrates the mental strength on our team which is so crucial in squash.”

—Staff writer Katherine H. Scott can be reached at katherine.scott@thecrimson.com