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Howe Cup Preview


Feb 15, 2002 © 2002 Ron Beck. May not be reproduced online or in print without permission.

HARVARD AND TRINITY TO VIE FOR TOP HONORS IN NEW HAVEN

Friday, February 15, 2002

Princeton and Yale aim for third

NEW HAVEN CT. -- The Trinity women's squash team pulled off a big 5-4 win over the Harvard women on February 2, 2002 at Trinity's home courts. Harvard's closely-knit team seeks to achieve more this weekend in New Haven.

Harvard's captain and #2 player, Margaret Elias, told SquashTalk,

" We are feeling strong and confident at this point and are ready to play some gritty, high-level squash this weekend. We have the determination and ability to take it all the way to the championship title.

"The Howe Cup has always been a high point of our season, so everyone is very excited. The freshman have been hearing about it and can't wait to experience all what it feels like to be surrounded by dozens of teams and players of all level, not to mention fans, parents, coaches and friends. Of course, our mind is set on playing good squash and winning the national championships, but I think we all appreciate the electricity that runs through the entire weekend."

KEY MATCHUPS
If all goes according to form, the two teams will meet again this Sunday at the Howe Cup finals. A look at the results from February 2nd show several key matchups. The most problematical for Harvard, was Trinity's #9 player during the dual matchup, Clare Austin. Austin, much better than a #9 player was apparently unable to train for much of the season, and was inserted at the last position to try to bolster Trinity's hopes and test her match fitness. Now, with it clear that Austin can perform on court, Trinity will most likely have to place her higher on the ladder for the rematch. If so, that might put Harvard's #9, Kristin Wadhwa in a position to take that point. Other key matchups were at the six through eight positions, where the matches all went to an extremely tight four games.

YALE AND PRINCETON

Yale looked extremely strong in their 7-2 victory over Princeton on February 2nd, though there were four five game matches that all tipped Yale's way. Princeton will be motivated to salvage their season with a third-place rematch against Yale. Gail Ramsay commented, "Hard work can turn overwhelming defeat into victory in a very short time - if the players and coaches concerned are ready to make the necessary commitment."

WHO IS NUMBER FIVE ?
Dartmouth, who have beaten all of their "second four" rivals, Brown, Williams and Cornell by 7-2 scores, looked strongly positioned to nail down the #5 spot. Dartmouth lost to Princeton 6-3 last weekend and previously fell to Yale 8-1, Harvard 7-2, and Trinity 9-0 and thus seem unlikely to be able to further climb towards a #4 finish.

A number five finish for Dartmouth, though, will be a big accomplishment for John Power's program, which has see-sawed between 8 and 9 the past few years.

Women's top ten going into the Howe Cup

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