No. 1 Women's Squash Captures Fourth Ivy Title in Seven Years

Lightning has struck yet again for the No. 1 Harvard women’s squash team. With wins over Brown and then-No. 4 Yale this weekend, the Crimson (10-0, 7-0 Ivy League) closed out a perfect regular season with its 20th Ivy League title in program history.

HARVARD 9, YALE 0

After dropping two conference games earlier in the month, Yale (11-4, 4-3) rebounded with a decisive 9-0 win against now-No. 9 Dartmouth on Friday. The Bulldogs looked to be gaining momentum, and with a win over the leader of the Ancient Eight on Sunday, the hosts could have forced the Crimson into a tie for the championship with No. 2 Penn. But Harvard would not settle for sharing.

Freshman Sabrina Sobhy clinched her seventh win in the No. 1 spot at the Brady Squash Center with a 11-8, 11-7, 11-2 victory over Yale’s Celine Yeap. With the win, Sobhy finished the regular season undefeated in Ivy League play.

Senior Michelle Gemmell and co-captain Saumya Karki also remained undefeated with their sixth and ninth wins, respectively, as the two finished their seasons with sweeps over their opponents. Gemmell topped Jennifer Davis, 14-12, 12-10, 11-8, while Karki picked up an 11-4, 12-10, 11-2 win over Jocelyn Lehman.

Junior Katherine Tutrone and sophomore Sue Ann Yong picked up their fifth wins on the season, and junior Dileas MacGowan recorded her eighth. Sophomore Alyssa Mehta also came out with a win.

Freshman Sophie Mehta had the longest match of the day in New Haven, Conn., playing four games against Bulldog junior Madeline Tomlinson in the No. 9 spot. After trading a pair of games with Tomlinson, Mehta took control of the match in the third stanza, going on to decisively win the next two games. Tomlinson was the only person to win a game for Yale on the day.

This is the 18th time that the Crimson has finished the regular season undefeated. The team has now won the Ivy League championship four times in the last seven years. Harvard has the most Ivy League titles in history, with 14 more championships than the team with the second most titles, Princeton.

HARVARD 9, BROWN 0

Friday’s match against Brown (6-8, 0-7) marked the Crimson’s last home game. The Bears, who entered the contest without an Ivy League win on the year, had their hands full with a Harvard team that had been rolling. At stake in the match for the Crimson was a share of the Ancient Eight title, which was still up for grabs.

It was a bittersweet day for the seniors, who played their last regular season game at the Murr Center—bitter, for this marked the beginning of the end of their senior season, yet sweet, because they ended it on a stellar note.

“These two matches mean a lot to us,” MacGowan said. “Friday's match against Brown was the last squash match the seniors will ever play on their home courts. Regardless of the history with the opposing team and any expectations we have regarding outcome, we were as motivated as ever for these last two matches because we wanted to give it our all for our seniors.”

Both Harvard co-captains made appearances on the courts and helped lead their team to a share of the championship. At the No. 5 position, Karki easily handled Brown’s Katrina Northrop to earn her eighth win at the position. Dowling, who was playing through a cold, did the same in the eighth position, earning her first win in that spot. Gemmell also won at the No. 3 spot.

The Crimson’s freshmen had a strong showing at the match, with Sobhy and Sophie Mehta making quick work of their opponents in the first and seventh positions, respectively.

Yong, Tutrone, MacGowan, and junior Caroline Monrad also contributed to the Crimson sweep with straight-set victories.

“The team worked really well together, and each and everyone of us were really mentally strong today,” MacGowan said. “Michelle and Katie both had some games with really close scores, but they were both able to win their matches 3-0 due to their mental strength and ability to play those clinch and crucial rallies really well.”

Harvard ended its home slate taking all 27 games against Brown. With the two weekend wins, the Crimson finished the year with six 9-0 sweeps in seven tries against Ancient Eight opponents. With the win over Brown in particular, Harvard maintained its perfect record (47-0) in the all-time series with the Bears.

“I think we are all at a good and confident place,” Yong said. “We want to work on maintaining the focus and fitness we've had thus far throughout the season and hopefully defend the national title."

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