Trinity Beats Harvard 5-4 to Win Dramatic Women's National Championship by David Kingsley
Anna Kimberley
February 23, 2014 Princeton, N.J.
- First-year Anna Kimberley (Essex, England) won the deciding match,
breaking a 4-4 tie with a 3-1 win in the No. 4 match, to lead the
Trinity College Bantams to a 5-4 victory over the Harvard University
Crimson in the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team
Championship (Howe Cup) Finals this afternoon at Princeton University's
Jadwin Courts. Trinity wins its third national title and its first
since taking the Howe Cup in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003, and
closes with a 16-1 record. The Bantams defeat Harvard for the first
time since 2008, snapping a nine-match losing streak against the
Crimson, and avenge 5-4 setbacks to them in both the 2013 Howe Cup
Finals and in the teams' regular-season match at Trinity on February 4.
Harvard ends up with a 14-1 mark, losing for the the first time since a
5-4 defeat at Princeton on January 13, 2013.
"This is incredible,"
said Trinity Head Coach Wendy Bartlett. "It has been a long time, 11
years since we won this, but we knew this was going to be our year. The
girls worked very hard. My heart and my stomach were up and down up and
down, but these girls wanted it. They really did. Anna is incredible.
She came in here as a first-year, went undefeated, and won the final
match for a National Championship. "
With the score tied
after two straight Harvard wins, Kimberley rebounded from a first-game
loss to Crimson sophomore Saumya Karki to take the next three games
including an 11-9 victory in the fourth that was followed by a spirited
celebration by her teammates and the Trinity fans. Dileas McGowan had
outlasted Trinity sophomore Sachika Balvani (Mumbai, India), 3-2, to
tie it at 4-all after Amanda Sobhy (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) had taken the No.
1 match, 3-0, for the Crimson.
Harvard led, 2-0, in
the early going, as Katie Tutrone and Megan Murray posted 3-1 wins at
No. 3 and No. 9, respectively. Junior Natalie Babjukova (Prague, Czech
Republic) got the Bantams on the board in dramatic fashion, taking a
2-0 lead over Crimson Julianne Chu in the No. 6 match, losing the next
two games by 11-6 scores, and rallying for an 11-6 victory in the fifth
game.
"This feels amazing,
said Babjukova. "It was our goal from the beginning of the year, so we
are just the happiest people in the world right now."
Babjukova's win was
followed by three consecutive Bantam wins, beginning with a 3-1 victory
by senior co-captain No. 2 Catalina Pelaez (Bogota, Colombia) over
Haley Mendez () to give Pelaez a flawless ?-? record for the year.
Classmate Jennifer Pelletier (Richmond Hill, Ontario) came back from a
2-1 deficit to post a 3-2 win at No. 8, and junior Ashley Tidman
(Lamor-Plage, France) made a gutsy comeback from two games down to win,
3-2, at No. 5 for a 4-2 Bantam lead after two waves.
"When we won it, it
was just a big release," said Kimberley. "I knew she (Karki) was going
be tough to beat. She really stepped up today. The whole Harvard team
played us tough. This is just the best feeling, such an amazing
feeling."
MATCH RESULTS 1. H- Amanda Sobhy d. Kanzy El Defrawy, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 2. TC- Catalina Pelaez d. Haley Mendez, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 11-4 3. H- Katie Tutrone d. Wee Nee Low, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3 4. TC- Anna Kimberley d. Saumya Karki, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 5. TC- Ashley Tidman d. Michelle Gemmell, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 6. TC- Natalie Babjukova d. Julianne Chu, 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 11-6 7. H- Dileas McGowan d. Sachika Balvani, 11-13, 14-12, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6 8. TC- Jennifer Pelletier d. Isabelle Downing, 10-12, 11-4, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6 9. H- Megan Murray d. Chanel Erasmus, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-5 Trinity (Conn.) 5, Harvard 4
