PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The 27th-ranked Haverford College women's squash team (7-11) split a pair of matches to open up the College Squash Divisional Championships on Friday at the state-of-the-art Arlen Specter US Squash Center. The Fords began with a dominant 9-0 sweep over No. 30 Vassar (4-14) before falling to No. 22 Franklin & Marshall (6-12) by a score of 8-1.
#27 Haverford 9, #30 Vassar 0
In the Opening Round of Walker Cup action, the match against the Brewers started in the seventh flight, where rookie Ofri Geva secured Haverford's first point of the day, defeating Perla Leal 11-2, 11-1, 11-0. Zoe Liu then extended the lead to 2-0, winning in flight five over Lexi Donshik 11-5, 11-2, 11-1. Ariana Solecki added a third point in the top flight, defeating Charlotte Tobin 11-2, 11-6, 11-4.
Matilda Chartener made it 4-0 for the Fords with a convincing 11-7, 11-3, 11-3 win over Eaint May in the eighth flight, followed by Caroline Gay's match-clinching fifth point, a 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 victory against Ruby Shang in flight six.
The momentum continued as Joelle Phuah downed Adriana Ordaya 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 in the third flight, and Amy Saxon beat Iesha DeSilva 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 in the ninth. Julia Carrasco added the Fords' eighth point, winning 11-4, 11-0, 11-4 over Sophia Choudhri in the fourth flight, while Catherine Fortin completed the sweep with a 11-3, 11-1, 11-5 win over Sarah Boucher-Rowe in the second flight.
#22 Franklin & Marshall 8, #27 Haverford 1
In the Walker Cup quarterfinals, Franklin & Marshall took an early 1-0 lead in the fifth flight as Tatum Long defeated Zoe Liu 11-3, 11-2, 11-3, followed by a 3-0 victory for Gurlin Kaur over Ariana Solecki at the top flight (11-1, 11-6, 11-4). The Diplomats extended their lead to 3-0 after Joey Ho downed Ofri Geva 11-0, 11-5, 11-7 in the seventh flight.
At the sixth flight, Rory Dasher beat Caroline Gay 11-5, 11-2, 11-4, and the clinching point was earned by Zarine Gidwaney, who defeated Joelle Phuah 11-5, 11-0, 11-6 in the second flight.
Franklin & Marshall added a sixth point when Lavanya Mio Seshasayee triumphed over Matilda Chartener 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 in a hard-fought battle in flight eight. In the fourth flight, Ashanti Amastal edged out Julia Carrasco 11-5, 9-11, 11-2, 11-4 for the Diplomats' seventh point.
Haverford's lone victory came in the ninth flight, where Amy Saxon swept Marwa El Hawwam 11-1, 11-3, 11-1. However, Mia Todd sealed an 8-1 win for Franklin & Marshall with a 11-5, 5-11, 6-11, 5-11 triumph over Catherine Fortin in flight three.
The College Squash Divisional Championships will continue on Saturday, March 1, as the Fords challenge No. 23 Hamilton at 9 a.m in the Walker Cup consolation semifinals.