New Haven, Conn. – Junior Pamela Saunders (Harare, Zimbabwe) set the tone immediately with a fast and dominant, 9-1, 9-4, 9-0 win over Frances Ho (Hong Kong) at the No. 3 position to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 9-0 win over the Yale University Bulldogs in the final round of the College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championships (Howe Cup) this afternoon at Yale University. Trinity, ranked No. 1 in the nation, finishes with a perfect 14-0 record, extends its winning streak to 25 matches, and captures its second consecutive Howe Cup title.
Trinity blanked Yale in the same overwhelming fashion as its 9-0 wins over Brown and Pennsylvania in the two previous rounds, beginning with 3-0 triumphs by Saunders, senior co-captain Clare Austin (Banbury, England) at No. 6, and sophomore Meridy Vollmer (Cincinnati, Ohio) at No. 9.
The second triplet of matches saw Bantam sophomore Lynn Leong (Kota Bharu, Malaysia) make quick work of her Bulldog opponent, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5 to give Trinity a 4-0 lead with the No. 5 and No. 8 contests in progress. Freshman No. 5 Maria Restrepo (Medellin, Colombia) broke open a 1-1 match with 9-2 and 9-1 victories in the third and fourth games to clinch the title for the Bantams after just five matches were completed. Trinity sophomore Bronwyn Cooper (Harare, Zimbabwe) also won her third and fourth game after splitting the first two games in a 3-1 triumph in the No. 8 slot.
Bantam freshman No. 4 Larissa Stephenson (Auckland, New Zealand) posted a 3-0 win and classmate Rhea Bhandare (Bombay, India) continued her undefeated rookie campaign with a 3-1 win at the No. 7 position. Trinity junior co-captain Amina Helal (Manchester, England) was in danger of dropping Trinity’s only match of the day against Yale freshman sensation Michelle Quibell (Atlanta, Ga.), falling behind, 2-0, with defeats in the first two games. Helal, ranked No.1 in the nation, rallied to take the final three games form Quibell, giving Trinity a 9-0 win and herself a 2-1 record for the season against the nation’s No. 5-ranked player.
MATCH
RESULTS
1. TC- Amina Helal d. Michelle Quibell
3-2
2. TC- Lynn Leong d. Amy Gross 9-3, 9-4, 9-5
3. TC- Pamela Saunders d. Frances Ho 9-1, 9-4, 9-0
4. TC- Larissa Stephenson d. Rachita Vora 9-3, 9-0, 9-7
5. TC- Maria Restrepo d. Gina Wilkinson 9-4, 5-9, 9-2, 9-1
|6. TC- Clare
Austin d. Sarah Coleman 9-6, 9-4, 9-1
7. TC- Rhea Bhandare d. Lauren Doline 3-9, 9-7, 9-6, 9-7
8. TC- Bronwyn Cooper d. Devon Dalzell 9-2, 3-9, 9-5, 9-6
9. TC- Meridy Vollmer d. Ruth Kelley 9-4, 9-4, 9-5
Trinity (Conn.) 9, Yale 0