New Haven, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams closed out the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championship (Howe Cup) Tournament with a 5-4 loss to the host Yale University Bulldogs in the Third-Place Match.  Trinity, seeded No. 4 in the tourney field, finishes team competition with a 15-5 record and will close out the year in two weeks with the CSA National Singles Championships at the University of Pennsylvania.  

Trinity won at spots No. 2 thru 4 by a combined score of 9-0, and sophomore Ashita Bhengra (Chennai, India) added A 3-1 victory in the No. 8 match.  Bantam junior Akanksha Salunkhe (Vasco de Gama, India), ranked No. 18 in the nation at the end of last season, won, 3-0, at the second position over No. 16-ranked Helen Teegan.  Trinity sophomore Sarahi Lopez (Zappopan, Mexico) swept her opponent at the No. 3 position, and senior tri-captain Vanessa Raj (Penang, Malaysia) completed a perfect dual season with a 3-0 at No. 5 to improve to 15-0 for the winter. 

The difference was a 3-2 victory by Yale's Gigi Yeung over Trinity senior tri-captain Lakeesha Rarere (Hastings, New Zealand) in the No. 6 match, as Yeung pulled out an 11-9 win in the fifth game after Rarere had forced it with an 11-9 win in game four.  Lucy Beecroft, ranked No. 9 nationally at the end of last year, downed Trinity junior Min Jie Teh (Klang, Malaysia), ranked No. 7 nationally, at the top of the ladder, 3-1.

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