After soundly thrashing Dartmouth in the opening round, 9-0, and waltzing past Penn 6-3 in the semifinals, the highly anticipated showdown with Trinity became a reality.

Harvard had reason to enter the match with supreme confidence, considering that it was receiving production from both the top and bottom of the lineup. In her nailbiting match with the Quakers' Runa Reta, Harvard's No.1 Louisa Hall had set the tone for the entire weekend by staving off Reta's charges to eventually finish off on top.

Although Harvard had already clinched the match before Hall scored her victory, the Herculean effort sent a message to Trinity that Harvard would not back down.

"We knew we could beat Trinity, and saw this second match with them not so much as revenge but as a time to prove ourselves," said senior co-captain Virginia Brown. "When it came down to the final push, we had the guts to pull through."

Harvard's guts were never so apparent as when Witcher, Wing, and Brown launched furious comebacks to secure their victories. For other players, however, the afternoon was less about guts and more about sheer dominance. No. 2 Margaret Elias dominated All-American Janine Thompson in three games, and Wadhwa and Harmeling also cruised to victory.

For Harvard's seniors-Virginia Brown and Katie Gregory-the win was particularly sweet because it marked the first time that the Howe Cup has been returned to Cambridge since it rested comfortably here from 1993-1997.

"This was very special for me as a senior," Brown said. "Not only because this is pretty much the highest honor in collegiate squash and something that I have dreamed of winning and worked toward each season since I was a freshman, but also because of the team that I won it with."