No. 2 Harvard Women's Squash to Take on No. 10 Brown and No. 8 Williams

Senior Sandra Mumanachit (pictured) and the Crimson will take on Brown Nov. 20 to begin the season.
Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot.

The second-ranked Harvard women’s squash team opens the 2009-10 season with road matches at No. 10 Brown and No. 8 Williams. The Crimson takes on the Bears Nov. 20 in the Ivy League and season opener and the Ephs Nov. 22.

About Harvard:
The Crimson comes into the weekend ranked second in the College Squash Association (CSA) preseason poll. Four players are ranked among the top 20 in the preseason individual poll. Laura Gemmell is Harvard’s top player, ranked at No. 4 while Nirasha Guruge is ranked at No. 8 and Alisha Mashruwala and June Tiong are No. 15 and 17, respectively.

Harvard began the 2008-09 season on a seven-match unbeaten streak and hopes to start this season off in similar fashion. The seven-match streak began with 9-0 sweeps of Brown and Williams.

About Brown:
The Bears begin the season ranked No. 10 in the CSA preseason poll. A trio of junior captains, Laura Pyne, Sarah Roberts and Kali Schellenberg leads Brown. The Bears will look to improve upon an 8-8 record last season on its way to capturing the Kurtz Cup at the Howe Cup National Championships last year.

About Williams:
The Ephs start the year as the No. 8 team in the nation. Senior Toby Eyre is ranked No. 3 in the individual preseason poll and is looking to achieve All-America honors for the third time in her career. Williams kicks off the 2009-10 campaign at Yale Nov. 20 and will also host Middlebury Nov. 22 as well as hosting the Crimson.

Up Next:
Harvard will travel to Hanover, N.H. to face Dartmouth Dec. 2 and will host Cornell Dec. 5 at the Barnaby Courts in key Ivy League contests.