No. 11 Virginia Drops to No. 4 Yale 7-2
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- The No. 11 Virginia women’s squash team (11-6) concluded its fourth match of the weekend on Sunday (Jan. 27.) with a 7-2 loss to fourth-ranked Yale (7-3) at the McArthur Squash Center.
Two Cavaliers recorded wins in the hard-fought match against the Bulldogs. Junior Julia Thompson (Newtown Square, Pa.) defeated Jessica Yacobuccia 13-11, 11-5, 11-5 in position nine, while sophomore Giovanna Veiga de Almeida closed the day with an 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 win in position seven against Alexis Lazor.
Additionally, senior Annie Tyson (Flourtown, Pa.) forced an extra game in position eight. Tyson fell, 15-13, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8 to Nikita Joshi, while sophomore Emily Woodworth (Weston, Mass.) forced a tie-break in her third game, dropping to Emily Sherwood in position five 11-5, 11-3, 12-10.
“Three 9-0 wins over the course of Friday and Sunday, backed up by a good fight with the fourth-ranked team in the country Yale, really demonstrates how much this team has improved in the last six months,” head coach Mark Allen said. “I’ve been telling the women for a while that our strength in depth is as good as anyone’s, and the wins at number seven from Giovanna (Veiga de Almeida) and number nine from Julia (Thompson), as well as a very tight loss at number eight from Annie (Tyson), is proof of that today and they are really starting to believe in themselves. The entire squad, from first-year Emma Jinks at number one to fourth-year Candace Craig at number 14, is playing such great squash. I’m excited for next weekend’s Mid-Atlantic Tournament and can’t wait to see just how far this team can go at nationals in a few weeks’ time.”
Virginia will return to action on February 2 as the Cavaliers host the Mid-Atlantic Team Tournament.
No. 4 Yale def. No. 11 Virginia 7-2
Order of Finish (6, 3, 9, 2, 5, 8, 1, 3, 7)
1 | Lucy Beecroft def. Emma Jinks 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
2 | Helen Teegan def. Tara Arya 11-3, 11-7, 11-6
3 | Celine Yeap def. Mandy Haywood 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
4 | Aishwarya Battacharya def. Caroline Baldwin 11-8, 11-7, 11-3
5 | Emily Sherwood def. Emily Woodworth 11-5, 11-2, 12-10
6 | Riya Mital def. Sarah Doss 11-1, 11-7, 11-7
7 | Giovanna Veiga de Almeida def. Alexis Lazor 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
8 | Nikita Joshi def. Annie Tyson 15-13, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8
9 | Julia Thompson def. Jessica Yacobucci 13-11, 11-5, 11-5
Exh | Ainsely Weber def. Elle Carroll 11-8, 11-8, 11-4