NEW HAVEN, CT - Women's squash comes home from the national championships as the consolation winner's of the Kurtz Cup with their victory Sunday morning. The Ephs defeated George Washington 8-1, finishing the weekend with a record of 2-1. This weekend closes the 2012-13 squash season for the women, who's final record is 17-11.
The day provided many highlights and hard fought matches for the Ephs, who were coming off a 9-0 victory over F&M the previous afternoon. First off the court with a victory for the Ephs was senior Mia Fry playing in her last match for Williams. Fry (#9) made her last match a convincing one, beating her opponent in three straight games. Next off the court came Caroline Sawin (#6) winning in four games. Sawin had the best individual record this season for the Ephs, finishing the year 20-8.
On the third court, Ellie O'Neill (#3) was having a tough battle with her GW opponent. After finding herself down 2-1, O'Neill stormed back and dominated the renaming two games to win in 5. After the first round of matches, Williams was up 3-0 and looking strong to take home the match.
The next round ended in similar fashion. Freshmen Lily Grant (#8) and Nicole Feshbach (#5) finished their first season as Ephs on a high note and were able to come off the court victorious with three and four game wins, respectively. After her opponent tied their match 1-1 with a 16-14 victory in the second game, senior co-captain Laura Henry (#2) made sure her opponent was not able to force a fifth game, winning the next two decidedly.
Williams already had six victories after the second round of matches, and the third round kept up the pace and intensity. Senior Hannah Kaemmer (#7) also ended her Williams career with a win, ending the match 13-11 in the third game. Coming off an impressive win yesterday, senior co-captain Alli Rubin (#1) had a tough match at the top of the ladder, but eventually lost in three close games. Alyssa Northrop (#4) was the last off the court for the Ephs, playing in one of the highlight matches of the weekend. The match was close from the start, and Northrop managed to get ahead 2-1 with a 15-13 victory in the third game. After her opponent took the fourth game forcing a fifth, Northrop was not fazed and came back strong to finish the match 11-9 in the fifth game.
Hailey Newbound (#10) also was victorious in the exhibition match, winning 3-0.
"Despite a tough start, we finished the weekend with two strong performances," commented Henry. " I'm incredibly proud of all the work and the accomplishments we've had throughout the season."
Even though the Ephs came in 5th at national championships and were not able to obtain one of their preseason goals of winning the Kurtz Cup, they still had a very successful season and should finish 11th in the national rankings. Some of the highlights of the season included their second place finish at the NESCAC championships earlier this month. Other highlights came from their exciting 5-4 victory against Middlebury in Vermont, their defeat of Bates 6-3 at home that very same weekend, their impressive 7-2 victory over Columbia, and their 14th consecutive Little Three Title.
"This season was one of the best we've had in the past four years," reflected Rubin. "Nationals did not go as we hoped, but that's no reason to forget all we accomplished - a Little Three Title and an appearance in the NESCAC finals. Everyone improved tremendously, and most importantly, everyone played as hard as possible in every match. It's hard to believe the season is over!"
Head coach Zafi Levy agreed with his two captains. "Although we had a disappointing loss to Bates on Friday, we had great wins on Saturday and Sunday to end the season on a high note," added Levy. "This has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I have had in years. Our seniors did a great job this season!"
The Ephs had many highlights throughout the season and are already looking ahead to a great season to come in 2013-14.
