Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton University Tigers swept the third wave to steal a 5-4 victory from the visiting Trinity College Bantams in women's squash actioon at Jadwin Courts this afternoon. Trinity, ranked No. 2 in the nation, led, 4-2, winning two out of three matches in each of the first two waves, but the No. 3-ranked Tigers won the final three points to avenge a pair of losses to the Bantams a year ago. The Bantams drop to 5-1 and will host the Dartmouth Big Green in their home opener on Tuesday, January 16 at 1 p.m. Princeton is now 7-0.
Sophomore Salma Alam Ed Din (Cairo, Egypt) got the Bantams off to a solid start with a 3-0 win in the No. 3 position in the lineup, and junior Jenny Haley (Newport, Wales) pulled out a 3-2 triumph at No. 6 to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after the first wave. Haley took the first two games, 11-2, and, 13-11, but lost the next two before rallying for an 11-5 triumph in the fifth. Trinity took a 4-1 lead thanks to a 3-0 sweep at No. 5 by rookie Min Jie Teh (Klang, Malaysia) and a 3-2 victory at No. 2 by senior tri-captain Julia LeCoq (Creteil, France).
Trinity led, 4-2, after a 3-1 win by Isabel Hirshberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) over Bantam senior tri-captain Karolina Holinkova (Krnov, Czech) and Kira Keating (Chevy Chase, Md.) downed Bantam first-year Akanksha Salunkhe (Vasco de Gama, India), 3-1, at No. 7 to make the score, 4-3. The pivotal match was at No. 4 where Tiger Samantha Chai (Norwell, Mass.) outlasted Bantam sophomore Lakeesha Rarere (Hastings, New Zealand), 3-2. Rarere won the first game, 11-4, but Chai took the next two before Rarere evened things up with an 11-4 win in the fourth game. Chai closed it out with a a win by the same score in game five, and the mach was tied at 4-all. Princeton Olivia Fiechter (Chestnut Hill, Pa.), ranked No. 6 in the nation, downed Trinity senior tri-captain and No. 5-ranked Raneem Sharaf (Cairo, Egypt), 3-1, at the top of the ladder to clinch it for the home squad.
MATCH RESULTS
Trinity v. Princeton
1. P- Olivia Fiechter d. Raneem Sharaf, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8
2. TC- Julia LeCoq d. Raneem El Torky, 4-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5
3. TC- Salma Alam El Din d. Grace Doyle, 11-5, 11-3, 11-4
4. P- Samantha Chai d. Lakeesha Rarere, 4-11, 11-4, 11-6, 4-11, 11-4
5. TC- Min Jie Teh d. Morgan Steelman, 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
6. TC- Jenny Haley d. Emme Leonard, 11-2, 13-11, 4-11, 5-11, 11-5
7. P- Kira Keating d. Akanksha Salunkhe, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4
8. P- Isabel Hirshberg d. Karolina Holinkova, 11-9, 7-11, 11-1, 11-5
9. P- Madison Soukup d. Salma El Defrawy, 11-5, 12-14, 11-7, 11-6
Princeton 5, Trinity (Conn.) 4
