AMHERST, Mass. - The No. 29 Haverford College women's squash team earned a split on its first day of Pioneer Valley Invitational action Saturday afternoon at Amherst College. The Fords were upended by No. 27 William Smith by a 7-2 final in the afternoon match, but looked poised in a convincing 9-0 victory over No. 41 Bard in the evening session.
William Smith 7, Haverford 2
Haverford received its individual match wins at the fourth and seventh flights against the Herons. Tia Brown had a standout performance in her five-game triumph over Natalia Welker at the fourth flight. Brown outlasted Welker in extra points for a first-game victory, and after the William Smith player tied things up, Brown went ahead 2-1 with an 11-7 game win. Welker won the fourth game, but Brown took an 11-8 victory in the decisive fifth game to put a crucial tally in Haverford's ledger. Caroline Smith similarly withstood a challenge from Erin Griffis, as she shook off an 11-6 loss in the first game, taking 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 victories to prevail at the seventh flight.
Elsewhere for the Fords, Urgyen Wangmo pushed Djeneba Ballo at the sixth flight, falling in a marathon 13-11 second game. Lyvia Yan made her debut in the top nine with a strong performance against Karina Lazaro. Yan took her opponent to extra points in the first game before falling 12-10.
Haverford 9, Bard 0
The Fords made quick work of a scrappy Raptors side in the nightcap. At the top flight, Isabelle Johnson surrendered just eight total points in her sweep of Pamela Jaramillo. Kaitlin Reese also allowed just eight in her sweep of Riti Bahl at the second flight, and Shreya Singh similarly made quick work of Nadia Russell.
Brown fended off a first game challenge from Jackie Lerman, responding with quick 11-4, and 11-3 victories at the fourth flight. Maisie Smith allowed just six total points while dispatching Justine Zaki at the fifth, and Wangmo did one better at the sixth, allowing just five total points to Marlaina Yost. Caroline Smith surrendered just four total points to Siren Chen at the seventh flight, while Hannah Adler grabbed a tidy win at the eighth flight, allowing just seven total points to Cameron Orr. Haverford picked up a win by default at the ninth flight.
Reese finishes the day with 36 career victories, as she looks to take aim at Haverford's career wins record. Haverford's co-captain is now just one individual win away from tying former teammates Isabel Agnew '17 and Isabelle Gotuaco '18 for second on the all-time wins list (37). Rachel Kaplan '99 holds the all-time record with 38 individual wins.
The Fords will return to action tomorrow, with a mid-morning matchup on tap against host No. 16 Amherst to wrap up the Pioneer Valley Invitational stint. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. at the Davenport Squash Courts.