Hartford, Conn. - Senior tri-captain Vanessa Raj (Penang, Malaysia) allowed just eight total points against her in the No. 5 match to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 7-2 victory over the visiting Cornell University Big Red in women's squash action this evening at Kellner Center. Trinity, ranked No. 2 in the nation, improves to 10-1 entering an 11a.m. match against No. 5-ranked Stanford at Yale on Sunday. Cornell plays at George Washington University tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Raj crushed Cornell's Mimi Delisser, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3, to give Trinity the decision during the second wave. Senior tri-captain Lakeesha Rarere (Hastings, New Zealand) and sophomore Sarahi Lopez (Zappopan, Mexico) swept their respective opponents in the first wave, and rookie Habiba Dawood (Cairo, Egypt) outlasted Lucy Martin, 3-2 at No. 8 on the ladder to give the Bantams a 3-0 lead after the first wave. Dawood lost the first two games, 11-9, in each but came back to take the final three, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5. Trinity junior Akanksha Salunkhe (Vasco de Gama, India) won, 3-0, at No. 2 on the ladder during the second wave, and the Bantams, led, 5-1, two-thirds through the match. Bantam sophomore Nadiia Usenko (Kiev, Ukraine) and rookie Lily Taylor-French (Fano, Italy) won during the third wave. Cornell's Sivasangari Subramaniam downed Trinity junior Min Jie Teh (Klang, Malaysia), 3-0, ranked No. 7 nationally at the end of last season, at the top of the lineup. McKEnna Stolz also won for the Big Red.
MATCH RESULTS
Trinity v. Cornell
1. C – Sivasangari Subramaniam d. Min Jie Teh, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9
2. TC – Akansha Salunkhe c. Lily Zelov, 11-4, 11-5, 11-4
3. TC – Sarahi Lopez c. Madison Miles, 11-9, 11-4, 11-3
4. TC – Nadiia Usenko c. Colby Gallagher, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4
5. TC – Vanessa Raj c. Mimi Delisser, 11-2, 11-3, 11-3
6. TC – Lakeesha Rarene c. Alexis Shatzman, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10
7. C – McKenna Stolz d. Amina Taher, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5
8. TC – Habiba Dawood c. Lucy Martin, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
9. TC – Lily Taylor-French c. Ania LaDow, 12-10, 8-11, 11-2, 11-2
Trinity (Conn.) 7 , Cornell 2
