The Harvard women’s squash team experienced an unfamiliar sensation last Saturday: losing.

After dropping only one game in its first four matches of the season, the No. 2 Crimson (4-1, 3-0 Ivy) fell 8-1 to nemesis No. 1 Trinity (7-0).

Intense rivals, the Bantams and Harvard have won the past two national championships. Before beating the Crimson at the Howe Cup last year, Trinity also posted a 5-4 win in their matchup at Hartford.

As expected, emotions ran high as many disagreements over stroke and let calls added to the frustration of losing close games.

Co-captain Ella Witcher, playing in the No. 8 slot, swiftly dispatched Bronwyn Cooper, 9-2, 9-4, 9-2. Last year, Witcher lost at No. 7 in the final, decisive match.

All but one of the Bantams’ top nine hail from outside of the U.S., while the Harvard program features just Witcher—a Canadian—from outside the northeast.

In the No. 2 pairing, sophomore Lindsey Wilkins took on Trinity’s intercollegiate No. 2 Lynn Leong.

A sophomore, Leong has been a thorn in the Crimson’s side since the beginning of her collegiate career. Last year, she defeated Margaret Elias ’02 in four games.

This year, Leong’s match reached a fever pitch almost immediately, as both she and Wilkins changed speeds and varied the depth of their shots.

At first, the players traded services. But after Leong accidentally hit Wilkins with a slicing shot, she was able to pull ahead. Leong went on to claim the game, 9-4.

The second game was closer than the score showed, as Wilkins made Leong fight for her 9-2 victory.

Assistant coach Mohammed Ayaz took Wilkins aside and spoke to her before the third game.

“He was pretty positive to me, [saying] ‘you’re playing well, you’re doing things well, just keep it up,’” Wilkins said.

Wilkins attacked the third game with renewed vigor, striking early with hard, accurate shots. She was not able to sustain her assault, however, and became frustrated with several calls made by Trinity No. 1 Amina Helal.

After falling 9-2, Wilkins quickly left the court as the rowdy Trinity spectators let out a cheer.