W. squash finishes third at Howe Cup

Once again the Howe Cup, the tournament which crowns the national champion of women's squash, was packed with excitement and fierce competition. When the dust had settled by the end of the weekend, the seeds went according to form. Yale (14-0 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) left victorious and with a national title. Trinity (9-2) was the runner-up and Princeton (9-3, 5-1) came in third.

Harvard (6-5, 4-2), Penn (10-5, 3-3), Dartmouth (9-7, 2-4), Brown (5-7, 1-5), and Williams (15-7) captured the No. 4 through No. 8 spots, respectively.

Opening day

The tournament opened Friday with all of the favorites winning easily. The Elis defeated the Williams Ephs, 9-0, winning all the matches in the minimum three games.

The Tigers also posted a 9-0 sweep as they took down the Big Green with only one match making it past three games.

"At this weekend's Howe Cup, Dartmouth showed us a different lineup and we handled it with ease," head coach Gail Ramsay said.

The Bantams of Trinity cleaned up against Brown, also earning the sweep. The same went for Princeton, with only one match taking more than three games. The match between the Quakers and Crimson provided a glimmer of excitement as Harvard pulled off the 6-3 win.

Thankfully for the fans, Saturday proved to be more intense. For the second time in a week, Princeton met Trinity, and for the second time in a week the Tigers fell to the Bantams. Princeton fell, 7-2, to its rivals, sending Trinity into the national title match against Yale.

Freshman Anina Nolan beat Fernanda Rocha in five games at the No. 7 position. Fellow freshman Marilla Hiltz, who lost in five games to Trinity last weekend at No. 5, pulled out a five-game marathon this time around. She rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the match to win.

In the other semifinal match on Saturday, Yale defeated Harvard, 6-3, to move into the finals.

In consolation matches Penn topped Williams, 9-0, and Dartmouth beat up on Brown, 6-3.

Championship Sunday

On Sunday, the excitement reached its highest level. Yale and Trinity battled for the title while Princeton and Harvard settled for the third-place match.

The Elis edged Trinity, 5-4, in the most exciting match of the tournament. With the loss, Trinity was denied its third consecutive Howe Cup victory.

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The third-place contest was just as close as the title game. In the end, Princeton squeaked by the Crimson, 5-4. Freshmen Ali Pearson, Genevieve Lessard, Hitz, Nolan and junior Frances Comey won at the No. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 positions, respectively.

"I think the Harvard match was our best event of the season," Ramsey reflected after the Tigers' last match. "The five through nine players had tremendous pressure on them to win each match and remarkably they nearly managed to do so.

"I felt everyone played believing their match would make the difference. [Pearson's] 3-2 and Nolan's 3-0 win helped push us through. But it truly was a total team effort and we could not have pulled it off without everyone's team commitment and hard work."