The Harvard women’s Squash team capped off a successful season this weekend with a strong showing at the CSA Individual Championships held at Williams College.
Six Crimson players represented Harvard in the Ramsay Cup, which selects the top 32 players nationwide.
Despite its youth—the Crimson was represented by two juniors, two sophomores, and two freshman—four out of the six advanced to the round of 16, more than any other school.
Harvard No.1 Freshman Nirasha Guruge, seeded seventh, had a strong showing in her first singles appearance in the Ramsay Cup, advancing to the quarterfinals and taking 8th place.
Guruge swept her matches on Friday, opening with a tight 9-5, 3-9, 9-2, 5-9 victory over Princeton’s Jackie Moss and following up with a 10-8, 6-9, 10-8, 9-6 win over Nayhelly Perez of Trinity in the Round of 16. Guruge couldn’t keep it up on Saturday, however, falling to Penn’s Kristen Lange, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, 9-1, 9-1, 9-1.
After falling in the second round 3-0, Crimson Sophomore Alisha Mashruwala picked up two impressive wins in the second round consolation tournament to advance to the ninth place match.
Mashruwala scored a 9-5, 9-7, 9-4 upset victory over Trinity’s Tehani Guruge and defeated the Tiger’s Amanda Siebert 6-9, 9-7, 9-6, 2-9, 9-1 to advance to the to 9th/10th place game.
Her victory helped avenge Siebert’s dramatic come-from-behind victory over Harvard’s Guruge in the finals of the Howe Cup two weeks ago, which had clinched the national championship for Princeton. Siebert had also knocked out the Crimson’s Katherine O’donnell earlier in the first round of the Consolation Bracket.
Mashruwala was upset herself in the finals though, falling 9-2, 9-4, 10-8 by Perez and had to settle for 10th place.
Harvard Sophomore Bethan Williams, a year after scoring one of the tournament’s biggest upsets, fell in a first round nailbiter to the Tiger’s Emery Maine, 6-9, 9-7, 9-2, 2-9, 9-5. Williams pulled herself together and cruised through the consolation bracket, winning three matches to advance to the finals against the Quakers’ Alisha Turner. After a shaky start, Williams took care of business winning 4-9, 10-8, 9-4, 9-2 to take the consolation bracket and 17th place in the tournament.
Junior Captain Johanna Snyder and Freshman Emily Park also competed for the Crimson, falling in the first and second rounds, respectively. Snyder had the unfortunate task of taking on Trinity’s Nour Bahgat, the tournament’s top seed in the first round, and fell 9-0, 9-2, 9-4.
Park knocked off Cornell’s Shivangi Paranjpe 3-0 in the opening round, but fell to No. 2 Lange in the round of 16, 9-3, 9-0, 9-2. Both would fall in their opening round Consolation Matches.
With the tournament, Harvard closes out its season. With the entire starting nine returning next season and two star recruits set to join the team, the Crimson will certainly be a force to be reckoned with next fall.
—BARRETT P. KENNY
Read more in Sports
Aldins Joins Crimson Coaching Staff
