Women's squash loses to Trinity in semifinals of Howe Cup

On the same day that the men's team was facing Trinity in Jadwin for the NCAA National Championship, the women's squash team was playing Trinity in the Howe Cup semifinals.

Princeton (7-4 overall, 6-3 Ivy League) finished fourth at the Howe Cup, the three day tournament that determines the national champion in squash. Just as their counterparts did the day before, Trinity clinched the national championship. Princeton was in the 'A' group, which is comprised of the top eight teams from across the nation — six of which are from the Ivy League. Princeton was seeded fourth, behind Trinity, Harvard and Yale.

In the opening round Friday, the Tigers opened up against No. 5 Dartmouth. Princeton had beaten the Big Green only a week before, 6-3.

The Tigers again won by the same score, with strong performances from the top six players. Freshman No. 5 Francis Comey dominated her opponent 9-0, 9-0 and 9-4.

"She [Comey] did a really good job. I mean, she just killed that girl and was really on top," sophomore Annie Rein-Weston said.

The Tigers then moved on to Saturday's semifinal match against No. 1 Trinity. The Bantams proved why they were the favorites to win it all as they defeated Princeton by a score of 7-2. All seven of Trinity's wins were 3-0.

Comey and senior Anna Minkowski provided the only bright spots for Princeton. Minkowski pulled out a tough five-game win at No. 5 after losing the first two games 3-9 and 4-9, respectively. She won game three in overtime, 10-9, before winning the last two games, 9-4. Comey continued to play like a veteran with an easy 3-0 win over Trinity's Mollie Anderson. With that loss, and a 9-0 Yale loss to Harvard, Princeton prepared to face the Elis in the third-place match.

Yale proved to be too strong for the Tigers as Princeton suffered an 8-1 loss and had to settle for fourth place in the tournament.

The lone win came at No. 7 when freshman Frances McKay beat Abigail McDonough, 3-0.

"The loss to Yale was disappointing because we thought that we could do better against them," Weston said.

The Tigers emerged from the weekend with a 1-2 record and the same ranking they had entering the week.

With the Howe Cup now over, Princeton will focus on the Women's Intercollegiate Squash Association tournament, which determines the individual champions in college squash. The tournament will be held at Jadwin Gym.

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Tigers coach Gail Ramsay is hoping to get five players in the tournament. Last year, Rein-Weston and senior Emily Eynon earned Second Team All-America honors. The Tigers hope to improve on that number this year.