HAVERFORD, Pa. - The 29th-ranked Haverford College Women's Squash team (8-5) registered a pair of match wins on Saturday at the GIAC Squash Courts, grabbing victories over No. 35 Denison and No. 32 Bucknell. Haverford took down Denison by a 9-0 final, before fending off Bucknell in a 6-3 decision in the late afternoon match. The program celebrated Senior Day by honoring the senior class of Sunny Chai, Sophia Jackson, and Kaitlin Reese prior to the Bucknell match. Reese took her 39th and 40th career victories on Saturday, becoming the program's all-time wins leader, eclipsing Rachel Kaplan '99 for the top spot in Haverford history.
Haverford 9, Denison 0
The Fords looked strong in a morning victory over the Big Red. Isabelle Johnson had little trouble with Coco Ogden at the top flight, surrendering just nine total points in a sweep (11-2, 11-3, 11-4). Reese similarly looked to be in control in her record-breaking victory, allowing just seven points to Lindsey Cruickshank at the second flight (11-3, 11-3, 11-1). Shreya Singh also recorded a sweep, staying composed despite challenges in all three games from Natalie Stanchina at the third flight (11-8, 13-11, 11-9). Tia Brown took a pair of relatively straight forward victories in her match at the fourth position, but was forced to fend off Paige Duffy in extra points in the third and final game (11-3, 11-6, 12-10).
Chai shook off a second game loss to storm past Chloe Sigg at the fifth flight (11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7), and Maisie Smith had a similar comeback in the sixth, allowing just 13 points in the final three games after a first-game defeat (10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2). Jackson opened up her Senior Day in style, controlling the match against Zoe Pearce at the the seventh position (11-1, 11-3, 11-3), and Urgyen Wangmo also looked fully in control in her dominating sweep at the eighth (11-2, 11-1, 11-4). Caroline Smith notched a quick sweep at the ninth flight, taking down Katie Lotane (11-5, 11-5, 11-2).
Haverford won for the fifth time in five meetings against Denison.
Haverford 6, Bucknell 3
In the late afternoon match, Haverford welcomed in a familiar foe as Bucknell made an appearance at the GIAC Squash Courts for the second consecutive weekend. The Bison featured a new-look ladder, and battled Haverford hard with both teams turning a watchful eye towards positioning for the CSA Team Championships in two weeks time. Luckily for the Fords, the overall result remained the same as Haverford found itself a 6-3 winner.
Ellie Hopkins turned around a prior loss at the top flight, putting a tally in the ledger of her squad with a sweep over Johnson (11-9, 11-8, 11-5).
In the last match of the afternoon to finish, Reese outlasted Sophia Hartman, charging back from a close loss in the first game, rattling off consecutive 11-3, 11-4, and 11-5 wins to become the first player in program history to reach 40 career victories. The third position was a winner for the visitors, with Maeve Snover taking over at the third flight and outlasting Singh (11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4). Brown swept Caroline Featherston, taking the final game in extra points at the fourth flight (11-8, 11-4, 14-12).
Chai rallied from a first-game loss to Caroline Fakharzadeh at the fifth, but her opponent took consecutive games in extra points for Bucknell's third victory (11-8, 3-11, 12-10, 15-13). Haverford recorded sweeps at the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth flights, with Maisie Smith eclipsing Hannah Yeager (11-7, 11-0, 11-2), Jackson taking down Charlotte Hoffberger (11-6, 11-2, 11-5), Wangmo defeating Caroline Insley (11-5, 11-6, 11-4), and Caroline Smith turning back Emily Tyler (11-5, 12-10, 11-4). In exhibition action, Hannah Adler defeated Emma Jinno (11-5, 11-6, 11-7).
The Fords improve to 7-3 all-time against Bucknell, with victories in five consecutive matchups.
Women's Squash will be back in action at the Centennial Conference Round Robin at Dickinson College next Saturday. The Fords will face off with No. 23 Dickinson (11:30 a.m.) and No. 18 Johns Hopkins (2 p.m.) in its final regular season contests of the season.