NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Haverford College women's squash team took down Smith College, 8-1, in the first day of play at the College Squash Association (CSA) 2013 National Team Championships hosted by Yale University.
Taking down the 35th-ranked Pioneers (2-14) for the second time this season, the No. 34 Fords got off to a good start in E Division action courtesy of two 3-0 sweeps by Miriam Fuchs and Samara Flug, playing at Nos. 9 and 6, respectively. Flug made quick work of Haruka Shimoto by surrendering just 10 points over the course of her match.
Randee Johnson, at No. 5, continued the fast start by Haverford (5-11) with another sweep before Alex Love, playing at No. 3, had to dig deep in a five-game contest with Vivian Lee. Undeterred by Lee forcing a fifth game, Love extinguished thoughts of a Smith rally by rolling to a convincing 11-2 victory.
Hannah Miller, playing at No. 8, squared off against Dipshika Mahajan for the second time this season and the pair once again engaged in a marathon match. Miller shook off a 2-1 deficit and pulled out a 12-10 win in game four to set up the deciding fifth game. Duplicating the outcome of their prior meeting this season on Jan. 20, Miller came up big in the final game with an 11-8 victory to take the match.
Sarah Madigan, at No. 7, and Bethany Simmonds, at No. 2, produced two more 3-0 conquests before Alisa Strayer accounted for the Fords' final point of the afternoon with a 3-1 win over Szilvia Kiss at No. 4.
Caroline Nightingale was the only Haverford player to suffer a setback on Friday but she grew stronger during the course of her match with Jacqueline Zhou (11-6, 11-7, 11-9).
The Fords continue championship play on Saturday when they look to defeat 38th-ranked New York University for the third time this season. The match against the Violets begins at 6 p.m.