NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale Bulldogs suffered their first conference loss of the season Saturday as they fell 6-3 to No. 2 Penn at the Brady Squash Center.

Yale (9-2, 2-1 Ivy) entered the match on a stretch of quality play, with its only defeat of the year coming Jan. 21 at the hands of No. 1 Trinity. 

However, Penn (9-1, 3-0 Ivy) won the day with strong performances from the top of its lineup, as the Quakers claimed victory in each of the top six spots.

Yale swept the bottom three, but could not procure the two additional wins needed to take the match. The Bulldogs came closest at Nos. 5 and 6, where sophomore Shiyuan Mao and senior captain Anna Harrison both lost in five games. 

Mao twice responded to defeat with wins that evened her contest, but fell 11-4 in the final game. Harrison, for her part, got out to a 2-0 lead, but could not come up with a third win as she lost the final three matches 5-11, 7-11, 8-11. 

Despite the loss, Coach Dave Talbott had high praise for his team, saying it was their "best performance of the year." 

"Across the board [Yale] played really well and showed that they are close to the best teams. The girls are pumped up for the Princeton match tomorrow. We are looking for a big win and it will be a close match if we play like we did today."

Yale will return to the Brady Squash Center tomorrow to face another tough Ivy opponent. Sunday's match with No. 5 Princeton will begin at noon. 

Report by Evan Brown '16, Yale Sports Publicity

Results: