No. 1 Women's Squash Welcomes No. 3 Penn, No. 4 Princeton in Home Finale
Pictured: The Crimson's three seniors: (L to R) Katherine
O'Donnell, Johanna Snyder and Sandra Mumanachit.
Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot Photography.
The Particulars:
No. 1 Harvard hosts No. 3 Penn, Feb. 6, and No. 4 Princeton, Feb.
7, in critical Ivy League matches. The Crimson and Quakers are tied
for first place in the Ancient Eight with undefeated records, while
the Tigers sit in third with a 3-1 mark in the conference. This
weekend also marks the final time that the team's three seniors
will compete at the Barnaby Courts.
Last Time Out:
The top ranked Crimson cruised past No. 2 Trinity, 7-2, Jan. 30.
Harvard handed No. 6 Stanford an 8-1 loss the following day. Laura
Gemmell, Natasha Kingshott, Katherine O’Donnell, Johanna
Snyder, Sarah Mumanachit, Cece Cortes and Vidya Rajan each
collected a pair of wins.
About Harvard:
The Crimson enters the weekend with a 6-0 overall record and is 3-0
in the Ivy League. Natasha Kingshott, Sarah Mumanachit, Katherine
O’Donnell and Johanna Snyder each sport 6-0 records.
Harvard has 11 players who boast undefeated individual marks.
Freshman Laura Gemmell is ranked third in the College Squash
Association individual poll.
About Penn:
The Quakers own a 10-1 record overall and are 4-0 against Ivy
League opponents. Penn’s one loss on the year came against
No. 2 Trinity, a 5-4 decision. Rachael Goh, Annie Madeira,
Christina Matthias and Yarden Odinak all sport undefeated 11-0
records. Kristen Lange is the No. 2 ranked player in the CSA
individual poll.
About Princeton:
The Tigers, the reigning Ivy League and national champions, enter
the weekend with an overall mark of 5-2. Princeton owns a 3-1
record in the Ivy League and is paced by senior Kaitlin Sennatt,
freshmen Casey Cortes and Julie Cerrullo with six wins apiece.
Jackie Moss and Vanessa Yu have each tallied five victories on the
season.
Last Year’s Meetings:
Harvard and Penn met on two occasions during the 2008-09 campaign.
The Crimson earned 7-2 victories in both matches. Harvard defeated
Penn Feb. 7, 2009 in the regular season and again on Feb. 13, 2009
in the semifinals of the CSA National Team Championships.
Harvard and Princeton met twice during the 2008-09 campaign in
two heated battles. The Crimson dropped 5-4 decisions in both
matches. Harvard fell to Princeton Feb. 8, 2009 in the regular
season and again on Feb. 15, 2009 in the finals of the CSA National
Team Championships.
Leader of the Pack:
With two weekends left in the regular season of the 2009-10
campaign, the Crimson finds itself sitting atop the College Squash
Association national rankings and the Ivy League standings with a
3-0 record against Ancient Eight opponents and 6-0 overall. Harvard
currently stands tied with Penn for the league lead.
Dependable Dozen:
Through Harvard’s first six matches of the season, it has not
dropped a match at the No. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 positions. The
Crimson is 6-0 at each of those seven slots. Harvard has had 12
different players see action at those positions this season.
Sibling Rivalry:
Harvard sophomore Cece Cortes’ younger sister, Casey, is a
freshman on the Princeton women’s squash team.
Harvard’s Cortes owns a 1-0 record so far this season while
Princeton’s Cortes sports a 4-1 record.
Super Sweet 16:
The Harvard women’s squash program has captured 16 Ivy League
titles. The Crimson fell in last year’s title match, 5-4, to
Princeton. Harvard last won the title in 2005-06. The Crimson
claimed the crown every year from 1991-92 to 1996-97.
Up Next:
The Crimson closes out the regular season as it travels to New
Haven, Conn. to take on Yale, Feb. 13.
