Yale Hosts Howe Cup
Feb. 15, 2007
New Haven, CT -
Game Set
What: Women's College Squash Championships
When: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday February 16-18
Where: Yale University Brady Squash Center
Big Issue
No. 5 Yale (10-3, 3-2 Ivy) comes into the Howe Cup, the Collegiate Squash Association's Team Championship, this year as the three time defending champions. However, this year Yale faces an uphill battle after struggling through a tough season filled with matches against highly competitive opponents. Yale dropped 5-4 matches to both No. 2 University of Pennsylvania and No. 4 Trinity College and a 6-3 match to No. 1 Princeton. Now, all of those teams are coming to the Brady Squash Center giving Yale a chance to get revenge and win another national championship.
The Trinity Match at 2 p.m. Friday
No. 5 Yale opens the Howe Cup with a match against No. 4 Trinity College. The Bulldogs battled the Bantams on January 23 falling in the match 5-4. Trinity overcame 2-0 deficits in two matches to secure the victory. Senior Catherine McLeod dominated her opponent Vaidehi Reddy at No. 1 3-0. The Bulldogs also picked up victories from Miranda Ranieri at No. 2, Jessica Balderston at No. 8, and Tara Wadhwa at No. 9. The Bulldogs, however, ran into trouble with the middle of Trinity's deep lineup last time as No. 4 Alia Aziz and No. 5 Kate Rapisarda fell when Trinity battled back from 2-0 deficits. Yale looks to avenge the loss to Trinity by defeating the Bantams in the first round of the Howe Cup.
Some Perspective
The Bulldogs have lost several key players from last year's championship team this year as both No. 1 Michelle Quibell and No. 4 Amy Gross graduated. The loss of these talented stars has definitely affected Yale's play this season as the Bulldogs have dropped two more matches than they did all last season.
Head Coach David Talbott is still optimistic about the team's chances of winning the Howe Cup this season though.
"It's the first time in four years we have had to deal with losing," Talbott said after the Princeton match. "We are lacking the depth we have had in the past. We lack the talent from past years."
Talbott was more optimistic after the victory against Brown last Saturday.
"The Howe Cup is still wide open," Talbott said. "We are healthy and in a good place. Hopefully the women will get on a roll going into the Howe Cup Championship."
Friday Schedule:
No. 1 Princeton v. No. 8 Brown - 10:00 a.m.
No. 2 Pennsylvania v. No. 7 Williams - 5:30 p.m.
No. 3 Harvard v. No. 6 Dartmouth - 12:30 p.m.
No. 4 Trinity v. No. 5 Yale - 3:00 p.m.
Lineups:
No. 5 Yale
1. Catherine McLeod
2. Miranda Ranieri
3. Lauren McCrery
4. Alia Aziz
5. Kate Rapisarda
6. Nicola Shiels
7. Sarah Barenbaum
8. Jessica Balderston
9. Tara Wadhwa
10. Elisabeth Hill
No. 1 Princeton
1. Claire Rein-Weston
2. Neha Kumar
3. Amanda Siebert
4. Gen Lessard
5. Ali Pearson
6. Casey Riley
7. Marilla Hiltz
8. Carly Grabowski
9. Kaitlin Sennatt
10. Maggie O'Toole
No. 2 Pennsylvania
1. Kristin Lange
2. Sydney Scott
3. Paula Pearson
4. Radhika Ahluwalia
5. Britt Hebden
6. Tara Chawla
7. Alisha Turner
8. Christina Matthias
9. Lauralynn Drury
10. Caitlin Russell
No. 3 Harvard
1. Kyla Grigg
2. Jennifer Blumberg
3. Supryia Balsekar
4. Audrey Duboc
5. Lydia Williams
6. K O'Fonnrll
7. J Snyder
8. C Neo
9. S Mumanachit
10. S Thorndike
No. 4 Trinity
1. Vaidehy Reddy
2. Lauren Polonich
3. JoAnn Jee
4. Tehani Guruge
5. Ashley Clackson
6. Fernanda Rocha
7. Siobhan Knight
8. Emily Paton
9. Hadley Schroll
10. Kim Palterman
No. 6 Dartmouth
1. Ashley Malenchak
2. Christine Alexander
3. Rebecca Loucks
4. Madeline Lurio
5. Avery Eyre
6. Emilie Mackie
7. Heather Lisle
8. Libbey Brown
9. Helen Woolworth
10. Frances Battin
No. 7 Williams
1. Toby Eyre
2. Ashley Eyre
3. Kate Whipple
4. Jennifer Coxe
5. Arianna Kourides
6. Catie Warner
7. Clair Hsu
8. Caroline Henry
9. Stephanie Barnet
10. Ridhima Raina
No. 8 Brown
1. Erin Andrews
2. Megan Cerullo
3. Breck Haynes
4. Laura Pyne
5. Charlotte Steel
6. Zarah Rahman
7. Minoo Fadaifard
8. Katherine Lew
9. Kali Schellenberg
10. Nathatlie Pierrepont
Report filed by Steven Horn '10, Yale Sports Publicity
