(updated 6-feb-10 20:59 )  

Tigers now are next up for the Harvard Juggernaut

Harvard's Laura Gemmell defeated Kirsten Lange, 3-0. photo © 2010 Courtesy Harvard/G Talbot.

Fortunes change quickly in college squash, as recruits, graduations and injuries all combine in an endless mix of possibilities to confound pundits, observers fans and coaches.

Penn, who welcomed an impressive recruiting class and already boasted Kirsten Lange anchoring their lineup, were picked to challenge for the title this year. The Harvard - Penn clash was seen as one of Harvard's biggest tests for their underclassman-heavy talent-laden group.

Harvard met the test and then some this Saturday afternoon at a Harvard venue that was completely spared the February blizzard hitting much. Not only did Harvard demolish Penn by an impressive 8-1 scoreline, six of their eight wins came with 3-0 scorelines. This on the heels of Harvard's strong 7-2 win over #2 Trinity, leaves their date tomorrow with Princeton as one of their two remaining hurdles in the way of an undefeated season and the so-called "Regular Season National TItle" - an oddity that is awarded by the Womens CSA. After Princeton, Harvard meets Yale in their regular season finale on February 13th.

And continuing what has to be Kirsten Lange's most disappointing CSA season, Penn's #1 and defending National finalist fell three zero to Harvard's talented freshman star, Laura Gemmell from Harvard. Gemmell was coming off a week in which she was also named Harvard's athlete of the week.

The top-ranked Harvard women's squash team improved to 7-0 on the season by defeating No. 3 Penn by a score of 8-1 Saturday afternoon at the Barnaby Courts. With the victory, the Crimson grabs sole possession of first place in the Ivy League, moving to 4-0 in league play, while Penn falls to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the Ancient Eight.

Harvard earned wins at the top two positions, as Laura Gemmell took down Kristen Lange at the No. 1 spot, 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-7). At the No. 2 spot, Nirasha Guruge fought off Nabilla Ariffin, 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1).  The Crimson also picked up 3-0 wins from four other players during the match.  At the No. 5 position, Natasha Kingshott defeated Britt Hebden, 11-8, 11-8 and 11-7, while co-captain Katherine O'Donnell collected a 13-11 win against Anne Madeira in game one of their No. 6 match.  O'Donnell claimed the next sets, 11-7 and 11-6, to earn the win.

At the No. 8, Sarah Mumanachit had back-to-back 11-9 wins in the first two games, before picking up a 14-12 overtime victory in game three.  Cece Cortes went to overtime twice in her No. 9 match against Pia Trikha, taking a win in three straight sets (13-11, 13-11, 11-6).

In other action, Alisha Mashruwala lost her first game against Rachael Goh at the No. 4 spot, 11-8, but rebounded to take game two, 11-3.  After Goh won the third game, 16-14, Mashruwala clinched the match with victories in game four, 13-11, and game five, 11-6.  Johanna Snyder also went a full five games against Yarden Odinak at the No. 7.  Each player grabbed an 11-7 victory in the first two games, before Odinak went ahead, 2-1, with an 11-9 showing in the third set.  Snyder took game four, 11-5, and then outlasted Odinak, 13-11, in the fifth and final game.

Harvard faces No. 4 Princeton at their Barnaby Courts for their key Ivy League matchup Sunday at noon.

Individual Match Results
No. 1 Harvard 8, No. 3 Penn 1
No. 1 Laura Gemmell (H) def. Kristen Lange (P) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-7
No. 2 Nirasha Guruge (H) def. Nabilla Ariffin (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-1
No. 3 Sydney Scott (P) def. June Tiong (H) 3-1: 6-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8
No. 4 Alisha Mashruwala (H) def. Rachael Goh (P) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 14-16, 13-11, 11-6
No. 5 Natasha Kingshott (H) def. Britt Hebden (P) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-7
No. 6 Katherine O'Donnell (H) def. Anna Madeira (P) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-6
No. 7 Johanna Snyder (H) def. Yarden Odinak (P) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11
No. 8 Sarah Mumanachit (H) def. Christina Matthias (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 14-12
No. 9 Cece Cortes (H) def. Pia Trikha (P) 3-0: 13-11, 13-11, 11-6
No. 10 Vidya Rajan (H) def. Stephanie Vogel (P) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-4