Women's squash takes fourth at Howe Cup Championship

The women’s squash team (12-5, 5-2 Ivy League) competed in the CSA Howe Cup national team championships this past weekend, Feb. 24-26, at the Jadwin squash courts. The Tigers picked up an early victory against fifth-ranked Yale (12-6, 4-3) on Friday but faced disappointing defeats the two following days against top-ranked Harvard (15-0, 7-0) and third-ranked Trinity (15-3). Princeton ended the weekend by taking fourth place.

The fourth-seeded Tigers opened their tournament quarterfinals with a 6-3 victory over the Bulldogs.

Sophomore Kate Feeley started off the competition, putting the first point up on the scoreboard for the Tigers with three 11-8 matches at the No. 9 spot. Sophomore Isabel Hirshberg and freshman Morgan Steelman then added two more wins to the tally at the respective No. 6 and No. 8 spots.

Yale tied the match at 3-3 with wins against Princeton seniors Alexandra Toth, Maria Elena Ubina, and Gabriella Garr, but junior Olivia Fiechter, junior Kira Keating, and sophomore Samantha Chai responded with a set of counter victories to seal the 6-3 team victory.

The Tigers hoped to carry the momentum into the next day’s match but were not able to top the Crimson in the semifinals, falling 1-8 on Saturday, Feb. 25 evening.

The team put up a valiant fight, however, with commendable performances from Feeley, Hirshberg, and Steelman.

Feeley picked up the sole victory of the afternoon for the Tigers, defeating Harvard’s Eleonore Evans 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, and 12-10 at the No. 9 spot.

Meanwhile, Hirshberg kicked off her match at the No. 6 spot against Katie Tutrone at 13-11, but soon narrowly lost the subsequent three games. Steelman followed a similar pattern, dominating the first match at the No. 8 spot but falling short for the remaining three, and the Tigers concluded the match with just Feeley’s point.

But the Tigers weren’t finished yet. A battle for third place in the Howe Cup was set for Sunday, Feb. 26 against Trinity after Saturday’s loss. The Bantams lost their semifinal match against No. 2 Penn, but had already defeated the Tigers 1-8 last Saturday.

Feeley completed a weekend sweep with a five-game win over Karolina Holinkova, and Steelman clinched the second victory of the match 11-8, 11-5, and 11-8 against Anna Kimberly.

Trinity was able to ultimately able to claim third place honors at 7-2, despite hard-fought competition from Ubina, Fiechter, and Keating, leaving Princeton at No. 4.