No. 8 Women's Squash Edged by No. 7 Columbia, 5-4

Friday, February 1

New York, N.Y.

2 p.m.

Drexel University

No. 7 Columbia

Photo by: Sideline Photos

No. 8 Women's Squash Edged by No. 7 Columbia, 5-4

2/1/2019 5:36:00 PM | Women's Squash

NEW YORK – No. 8 Drexel women's squash dropped a close match to No. 7 Columbia in a road match on Friday afternoon, 5-4. With the loss, the Dragons record now stands at 6-6 overall.

In the first round of matches, Stephanie Ryan came out of the gates quickly gathering a 2-0 lead playing some sublime squash. The third game proved the tipping point as her opponent started retrieving the ball well, playing error free squash. She squeezed the third and fourth games out. The fifth game proved very intense swinging back and forth with Ryan clinching it with a phenomenal drop shot flicked across court. Meanwhile, Anna Hughes faced a very challenging opponent, Habiba Mohamed. The first game belonged to Mohamed as Hughes could not find her rhythm. In the second game, Hughes managed to gain some momentum to win it, 11-8. There were chances in the third and fourth games but unfortunately the Mohamed came through, winning the match in four games. Catie Castelli lost in a tough three games. Drexel was down 2-1 entering the second round of matches.

Apoorva Addepalli highlighted the second round of matches, beating her opponent in a tough five matches. After losing the opening game, Addepalli bounced back to take the second game by the same score she lost the first. In the third she got ahead to take it on extra points, 12-10. After a blip in the fourth game, Addepalli managed to take the fifth game and the match. Mariam Kamal's match also went the distance. She led through the match winning the first before eventually being pegged to two games each. Unfortunately, the swing was to end there as Kamal lost the fifth game. Ona Prokes lost a quick first game, however, she played an even stronger second game, forcing errors out of Jane Pincus and clinching it with a fist pump. Prokes carried momentum into the third game gaining a solid lead but a combination of errors and great shots from her opponent allowed Pincus to take the game into extra points. After several exchanges back and forth, there was nothing to separate the players until 14-14 when Pincus took advantage of an error and then played a winner to take the marathon game. Unfortunately, this game took its toll and it showed in the fourth game as Prokes could not assert herself, losing the game quickly.

In the final round of matches, the Dragons were down 4-2 and needed to dig deep to win the remaining three matches. Captain Fiona Power started strongly, dominating the first two games. After a minor blip in the third, Power reasserted herself and took a straight forward fourth game. Brooke Herring played dominantly against Jui Kalgutkar, winning in straight games, 13-11,11-8,12-10. Hannah Blatt lost her match in straight games against a very solid opponent, Madlen O'Connor.

The Dragons will close out the regular season with a road match against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 9 before the Women's Team Nationals kick-off on Feb. 22.

RESULTS
No. 7 Columbia 5, No. 8 Drexel 4
1- Madlen O'Connor (CU) def. Hannah Blatt (DU), 11-5, 11-4, 11-7
2- Nicole Kendall (CU) def. Mariam Kamal (DU), 4-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6
3- Habiba Mohamed (CU) def. Anna Hughes (DU), 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5
4- Brooke Herring (DU) def. Jui Kalgutkar (CU), 13-11,11-8,12-10
5- Jane Pincus (CU) def. Ona Prokes (DU), 11-6,7-11,16-14,11-2
6- Stephanie Ryan (DU) def. Doria Chen (CU), 11-5, 11-1, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9
7- Fiona Power (DU) def. Julia Masch (CU), 11-4,11-3,9-11,11-3
8- Apoorva Addepalli (DU) def. Pranjali Sharma (CU), 8-11,11-8,12-10,2-11,11-7
9- Diana Mash (CU) def. Catie Castelli (DU), 11-5, 11-6, 11-6