Princeton, NJ—The Williams women's squash team faced off with the Mt. Holyoke Lyons in the Kurtz Cup semifinals. Despite a 6-3 upset over second-seeded Middlebury the night before, Mt. Holyoke could not continue their momentum, dropping a 6-3 decision to the Ephs.
Freshman Gibbs Cullen claimed the first match of the afternoon at the number nine position. Cullen allowed her opponent a mere five points en route to victory. Senior captain Kavitha Mannava won the next point for Williams at the number six spot. After losing a close second game, Mannava was able to rally to take the third and fourth games 11-9 and 11-4, respectively. Junior Carolyn Kaemmer took down Mt. Holyoke's number eight in a quick three games to put the Ephs up 3-0.
Sophomore Alli Rubin played the match of the day at the number three position against Mt. Holyoke captain Shara Robertson. After going down 11-7 in the first game, Rubin charged back to take the next two games 12-10 and 11-1, respectively. Dropping the fourth game 11-8, Rubin quickly went down 9-1 in the fifth game. With amazing touch and unparalleled mental toughness, Rubin won an astonishing 10 points in a row. Shocking coaches and players alike, Rubin did not give up a point, taking the final game 11-9, and putting Williams up 4-0 in match score. Coach Zafi Levy was overheard after Rubin's match telling Williams' fans, "That one will go down in the history books!"
Despite gritty efforts, Mt. Holyoke claimed wins at the five and seven spots. Freshman Alyssa Northrop won a hard-fought first game against another talented freshman opponent, but could not hold on, dropping a well-played match at number four.
The top of the Williams lineup continued to impress. A 3-1 victory by sophomore Laura Henry over number two Vidushi Gurunada cinched the match for the Ephs. Even with the five wins necessary to move to the next round, junior Courtney Bogle proved her ability as the team's number one. Playing nearly error-free squash, Bogle claimed a 3-1 win over Mt. Holyoke's Randima Ranaweera, making the final score 6-3 for Williams.
The Ephs will take on the Brown Bears in the National Championship "B" Division finals at 11am. The Ephs will be avenging an earlier loss, having dropped a closely-contested 5-4 decision to the Bears three weeks ago.
Williams vs. Mount Holyoke
Courtney Bogle (W) def. Randima Ranaweera: 3-1 (4-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-6)
Laura Henry (W) def. Vidushi Gurunada: 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8)
Alli Rubin (W) def. Shara Robertson: 3-2 (11-7, 10-12, 11-1, 8-11, 11-9)
Shaheen Mardraswala def. Alyssa Northrop (W): 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7)
Tempest Bowden def. Hannah Kaemmer (W): 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8)
Kavitha Mannava (W) def. Katrina Intal: 3-1 (14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5)
Kathryn Brummer def. Eliana Saltzman (W): 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-6)
Carolyn Kaemmer (W) def. Paulina Rojek: 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-8)
Gibbs Cullen (W) def. Marie Ozanne: 3-0 (11-1, 11-3, 11-1)
Mia Fry (W) def. My-Linh Nguyen: 3-0 (11-7, 11-0, 11-8)
