HAVERFORD, Pa. - The 25th-ranked Haverford College women's squash team (5-6) split a pair of matches on Saturday, playing the first home contests of the 2023 portion of the season at the GIAC Squash Courts.
Haverford dropped a 9-0 decision to No. 18 Georgetown in a morning contest, and then responded with a 9-0 victory over No. 31 Vassar in the late afternoon rematch between the two sides who met in Poughkeepsie in November.
#18 Georgetown 9, #25 Haverford 0
The Fords struggled to find their footing against the Hoyas, as Georgetown took sweeps at all nine spots on the ladder. The strongest individual efforts came as Ariana Solecki took her opponent to 11-6 and 11-7 games at the first flight, while Catherine Fortin also battled Sydney Bramen at the second flight, taking her opponent to an 11-8 decision in the third and final game to key a valiant performance.
With some injuries limiting Haverford's depth on Saturday, newcomers Amelia Stevens, Aman Hamdard, Amy Saxon, Clarice Xu, and Sabine Mejia all got valuable experience against a talented Georgetown team, in what should be a solid test for the rigors of the CSA Team Championships in Philadelphia next month.
#25 Haverford 9, #31 Vassar 0
Against a short-handed Brewers side, Haverford began the afternoon match with a 2-0 lead in hand as Vassar traveled to the Philadelphia area with just seven players. Once play began, Haverford continued to rack up victories as the squad posted sweeps at all seven flights.
Hamdard allowed just 11 points to her opponent in a 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 sweep of Chloe Vaiman at the sixth flight while Zegers also notched a straightforward 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 decision over Sophia Choudhri at the fifth position. Stevens swept Mariya Novosad (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) at the fourth flight, and Saxon fended off a challenge from Charlotte Banigan-White at the seventh flight (13-11, 11-3, 11-4), earning her first career victory in the process.
Captain Caroline Smith grabbed an 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 decision over Olivia Berkson, while Fortin (11-2, 11-8, 11-7) was a winner over Adriana Ordadya. Solecki glided to an 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 win at the top flight.
Haverford will now return to action next Saturday, hosting No. 43 Bucknell in the home finale. The Senior Day contest with the Bison is slated for a 1 p.m. start as the Fords will honor seniors Caroline Smith, Maisie Smith, Clarice Xu, Lyvia Yan, and Emilia Zegers prior to first serve.
The contest will also serve as a prelude to the annual Centennial Conference Round Robin on February 11, with contests on the docket against No. 19 Franklin & Marshall and No. 26 Dickinson in Lancaster.