HARTFORD, Conn. – The No. 26 Haverford College women's squash team (9-6) dropped a 7-2 decision to No. 27 William Smith (10-9) in an Epps Cup semifinal matchup at the CSA Women's National Team Championships on Saturday morning. The championships are being hosted by Trinity College, with matches taking place primarily at the Kellner Squash Center.
The first round of matches represented a fight to the finish as the Fords grabbed an early win from Sunny Chai at the sixth flight in a five-game thriller. Chai and Lilly Molinari split the first two games before Molinari took the 2-1 advantage with an 11-8 victory in the third game. Chai came from behind, rallying to win 11-4 and 11-2 decisions in the final two games to put a much needed tally in Haverford's column against a tough Herons squad.
Maddie Hager nearly toppled Michaelann Denton at the third flight, taking the second and fourth games in extra points. Denton eventually eked out the victory to even things at 1-1 in the overall match score. Eva Tamkin sprinted out to a 1-0 lead in her match at the ninth flight, but Gretchen Vietor rallied to tie the match in extra points, 12-10, before taking 11-8 and 13-11 victories in what became a seesaw battle.
The Fords grabbed another win at the fifth flight, with Urgyen Wangmo taking a four-game victory over Stacy Maecda (11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9). Sophia Jackson won a game at the seventh flight, while Hannah Adler similarly battled at the eighth flight before falling in four.
Haverford now advances to the Epps Cup third-place match, which will feature the Fords taking on No. 25 Colby at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning inside the George A. Kellner '64 Squash Center on the Trinity campus. Haverford will be looking for its first win over the Mules since 1994. The series sat dormant for 20 years before Colby beat the Fords at last season's Pioneer Valley Invitational.
A live video stream of select courts as well as live scoring for each match will be available via the CSA Team Championships central.