SquashTalk College
reporting & info:

CSA College Squash
Squashtalk Reports
2002-03 Previews
2002-03 Schedule
College Directory

2001-02 Archives
2000-01 Review
men's    women's
1999-2000 Review
1998-1999 Review
men's     women's

College Players

Pro Tour

SQUASHTALK TODAY
World Jrs 03 Cairo
English Open 03
PanAm Games
Spanish Open
Qatar PSA & WISPA
Hyder Trophy

RECENT EVENTS
Super Series
Atlanta PSA
SLC WISPA
Kellner Doubles
Irish Open

CURRENT CONTENT
Hall of Fame
News Index
Club Links
Gear Links
E-boast Newsletter
    (sign up now free)

[College Results]

Nail Biters Rule Women's College Season
By Eileen Schneider © 2003 SquashTalk Feb 20, 2003 © 2003  
Howe Cup Finals

Squashtalk Pro Squash Headlines

Event Engine Squash:
Tourney of Champs
US Open
YMG Capital Classic

World Men's Open
Qatar Classic
Cathay Pacific
Superseries
Qatar Masters '02
British Open
Pakistan Open
Macau Open
Melbourne 01
Al Ahram
Video recordings
Player profiles
Rankings
Calendar

Penn Senior Runa Reta collected the Betty Richey Award this season. (photo © 2003 Debra Tessier)

This was a great season for women’s intercollegiate squash. The top-10 individuals include 3 new freshman faces and a record 29 teams appeared at the Howe Cup. New teams from George Washington and the University of Rochester joined the CSA while efforts to foster other emerging programs are well underway. Trinity managed to pull away from the field and beat Yale 9-0 in the finals. However, the tight level of competition over the season was well characterized by the exciting matches that were played in all divisions at the Howe Cup, held at Yale from February 14-16, 2003.

Illustrating the fickle and intense nature of this squash season was Harvard’s 5-4 win over Yale, played on Wednesday after the Howe Cup. Yale had taken their Saturday semi-final meeting by a decisive 8-1 margin, but the home court advantage proved too much on February 19th as Harvard took the first, second, seventh, eighth, and ninth matches for the win. With the matches tied at 4-4, Louisa Hall lost a tiebreaker in the first game to Yale Freshman Michelle Quibell. Hall resurfaced with a dominating 9-0 second game and closed out the match in four games to claim Harvard’s third consecutive Ivy League title.

Back at the Howe Cup, the competition in the top division did not let up until late Sunday when each place from 1-8 was determined. Dartmouth was able to reverse a week-old 4-5 loss at Princeton to claim 5th place overall. Their match was highlighted by Dartmouth’s depth, which the Big Green used to sweep each of the 6th through 9th spots by 3-0 scores. However, Princeton’s top 5, led by Canadian sensation Ruchika Kumar, looked strong against Dartmouth, as they won at #1,2,4, and 5. The Tigers’ Anne Warner came up big against Jess Tory at #4, winning in five games after a 2-3 loss a week earlier. The Big Green found their clinching in Kelly Sennatt’s 5- game battle at #3.

Princeton had fought another close battle on Saturday against Williams. With a 5-4 win the Tigers reversed the Ephs’ “historic” regular-season 5-4 win. Again, the top of Princeton’s ladder led the way with wins at #1,2,4,5, and 6.

Williams went on to face Brown for the 7th place finish, which turned into another close team match-up, Williams coming away with the 5-4 win. The Ephs demonstrated the depth of their squad by taking the 9th, 8th, and 7th matches, while Brown’s Phoebe Anderson, Alicia Ringel, and Tara Gibbons won at 6,5, and 4, respectively. The top three positions brought hotly contested matches, but Williams ultimately prevailed with wins at #2 and 3. In their second year competing in the top division, Williams’ defeat of Brown and close match with Princeton solidify their position in the top echelon of college squash.

Kurtz Cup, or the Maine Open?
I know you’ve been waiting for me to mention it, but here comes the most exciting aspect of women’s college squash today: Maine schools finish 1,2,3 in the Kurtz Cup! Yes, they might as well hold Nationals at Bowdoin’s gorgeous Lubin Squash Center, because Maine is where its at for Kurtz division squash. Bowdoin, seeded first, lived up to their potential by winning that big, shiny cup in a 5-4 final over Bates. Bates, the #3 seed, had upset #2 Amherst 6-3 in the semifinals on the strength of their deep ladder. Colby, normally the White Mules, but a dark horse in this scenario, narrowly survived a first-round match up with Cornell before facing Bowdoin in the Semis. Bowdoin replicated their regular season 6-3 defeat of Colby by sweeping the top 6 matches. However, Colby learned a few tricks from their upset-minded friends at Bates and knocked off Amherst 5-4 on Sunday to claim #11 overall and #3 in the division.

Bowdoin’s path to Kurtz Cup glory was not as simple as it seems, and the 5-4 final over Bates was particularly trying. Meeting the same opponents for the second time in as many weeks made Bowdoin’s top 6 favorites heading into the match. Instead, the Polar Bears were buoyed by Senior Rachel Rones’ 3-game win at the #8 slot. As usual, Bowdoin’s top three were able to make short work of their opponents, allowing a total of only 11 points over the three matches. A 5-game win from Whitney Hodgkins at #5 clinched the victory for the Bears, but as Freshman #1 Niki Clement described it: “Stress is when you try to bite your nails, but there’s nothing there.”

The drama didn't stop at the finals: Cornell defeated St. Lawrence 6-3 to take 5th place behind Amherst. The Big Red came through, but were tested as four matches went to five games and three others required a fourth.

Walker and Epps Cups Hotly Contested
This level of excitement continued to the Walker Cup (for teams ranked 17-24) and Epps Cup (25-29) finals. Mount Holyoke played a tough tournament and reversed a regular season loss against Wellesley to take the Walker Cup 6-3 in the final. Third place in that division was determined by William Smith Senior Carolyn Troy’s fifth-game win at #7 against Wesleyan. With the team match tied at 4-4, Troy rallied from a 1-2 deficit to take the 4th and 5th games and clinch 19th place overall for William Smith. Bowdoin College head coach Tomas Fortson described the scene as “the way squash should be”.

The inaugural Epps Cup championship was appropriately won by Franklin & Marshall, the team formerly coached by Patty Epps, for which the Cup is named. Continuing the weekends’ theme, it was not an easy trip for the Diplomats as they edged Smith College only after tie-breaking procedure that counted individual games won in a round-robin format. \

Diamond in the Rough
Finally, the season award for “Hidden Gem” goes to the Penn team. The Quakers handed my Bowdoin team a 9-0 defeat this season, but I still manage to see the good in their squad. Unfortunately, Penn could not kindle an upset and fell 2-7 to Harvard on Sunday in the third-place playoff. Although, as Freshman Tyler Pearce described the match; “Beating Harvard, that would be hot.” Finishing 4th in the nation, the Penn team improved on their 9th place finish last year and pre season #7.

Why I’m warming up to the Quakers:
First: Their blue and red uniforms are always flattering, and remind the increasingly international competitors that we are, in fact, in America.
Second: Penn’s first round 5-4 win over Dartmouth reversed a 5-4 defeat that the Quakers had suffered on their own courts only 5 days before, and I respect that.
Third: When Captain Runa Reta won the Betty Richey Award at the Howe Cup banquet she gracefully congratulated her fellow nominee.
Fourth: Following Reta’s acceptance of the award and a very large silver bowl, Penn #2 Daphna Wegner was seen with the bowl perched atop her head, that leads me to believe that these girls are fun.
Fifth: Penn competed in, and won, the B-division last year, but that experience in the trenches seems to have paid off with a gracious and well-conducted team.

The Horizon for Women’s College Squash
Trinity’s 27-0 sweep of their Howe Cup matches belies the level of competition in this season of intercollegiate squash. Tough, close matches were everywhere this season, and especially at the tournament. The middle and lower levels of women’s college squash are clearly benefiting from an expanding base of junior players, at the same time the American women at the top of the college game are pushed by international recruits. It has been an exciting environment to play in this season as intercollegiate squash increases in quality, breadth, and depth.

COLLEGE USA
Schedules
Team previews

DEPARTMENTS
Latest news
Tournament Calendar
Bronstein Global Gallery
Player of the month
Videos
History
Pakistan Squash
School Squash
Camp Index
Features Index
Player Profiles
Worldwide Clubs
Worldwide Links
Rankings
Jobs

More Good stuff:
About Squash
   Just starting
Books
Juniors Squash
Women's Squash
Regional Reports

Squashtalk.com All materials © 1999-2003. Communicate with us at info@squashtalk.com.
Published by Squashtalk LLC, 95 Martha's Point Rd. Concord MA 01742 USA, Editor and Publisher Ron Beck,
Graphics editor Debra Tessier Send comments, ideas, contributions and feedback to the webmaster.
Copyright © 1999-2003 SquashTalk, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form except for one-time personal use.